Bella's Redemption
by Butterfly Betty
Summary: Dancing with the Devil cost Bella a piece of her soul. Will she earn her redemption? Or be lost forever. Sequel to Carlisle's Gift.
1. Chapter 1

1

Bella wondered through the house, stopping outside the large, picture window. She had a blanket wrapped around her shoulders and a cup of hot coffee pressed against her chest. A scream pulled her attention to the stairs, but she didn't make an attempt to follow it. There wasn't any point. She knew who was screaming, why they were screaming. And there was nothing she could do to help — not anymore.

Sighing, Bella turned back to the cool glass and surveyed the area, almost expecting her demons to slip out of the shadows and pull her back into hell. A hell she deserved.

"Did she wake you again?"

Bella frowned and looked back at the man standing at the base of the stairs. He looked older than his sixty-five years, tired and worn down. His dark hair was wild and messy, and his face was red, as it usually was after trying to calm Alice down.

"No," she told Aro. "Couldn't sleep, so I made some coffee."

Aro nodded and shuffled into the kitchen, coming out a few minutes later with his own cup. He stood next to her, both hands wrapped around his cup. Bella saw scratches on the back of his hands, claw marks.

"Bad night," she murmured.

"Every night is a bad night for her," he said, sadly. "And you."

Bella couldn't deny the accusation. She rarely slept through the night, and often pushed herself to stay away for days at a time. Made it better, she told herself. Lies. Lies she told herself in order to get through every day. Another scream echoed from upstairs. Aro sighed as he turned and followed the sound of his granddaughter's torment. A year hadn't given her the healing that she so desperately needed.

—BR—

Bella was sitting at the kitchen table when Alice shuffled into the room with Aro right behind her. She was a quiet girl, barely spoke more than a few words to anyone other than her grandfather, and even he was lucky if she talked. Bella knew it would take time for Alice to recover from the abuse she endured at the hands of her capture — both physical and psychological. Maybe even emotionally. She was trying, though. Bella couldn't deny that Alice was trying. She'd taken a liking to visiting the barn and spending time with the horses. Especially the black beauty.

"I made muffins," Bella said, gesturing to the cloth covered basket in the middle of the table. "I've gotta run into town. You going to be okay?"

"Yeah," Alice whispered, gingerly sliding into one of the chairs and slowly reaching out for a muffin. By looking at her, one would never assume that she was two years older than Bella. Alice was fragile, almost sickly. Her dark hair hung imply around her face, her eyes hidden behind the fringes of overgrown bangs.

"I'm going by the bakery," Bella said. "Would you like me to pick up something special?"

A smile spread over Alice's lips, one they didn't get to see often. "Chocolate cupcake with red sprinkles."

"Sounds delicious," Aro laughed, sitting in the chair next to Alice, who automatically tensed for a moment before relaxing. "Bring me some of those scones I like."

"I will." Bella stood up and placed her coffee cup in the sink before leaving the two of them alone in the kitchen. She grabbed a jacket, her keys, cell phone, and wallet from next to the door and headed out to the driveway, where her black truck sat. She'd only had it a few weeks and had fallen in love with it. As she climbed in behind the wheel, she saw the beat-up Chevy that their ranch hand, Emmett, drove kicking up dirt on the drive.

Bella sent Aro a quick text, alerting him to Emmett's arrival so he could prepare Alice. Emmett was a good guy, sweet, kind, and gentle, but they'd learned pretty quick that Alice didn't take well to surprises. Bella rolled down the window as she drove toward Emmett, motioning for him to pull up next to her.

He smiled, a set of dimples sinking into his skin. Emmett was a big man, bulky from working with his hands all day. He had a head full of curly brown hair and a pair of blue eyes that almost seemed to see right through a person. He had no idea what Bella or Alice had been through year ago, and she wanted to keep it that way. It was bad enough they had to relive their nightmares, they didn't need pity from guys like Emmett.

"How's Rose?" Bella asked, talking about his wife of three years. Emmett and Rose were both thirty, but had been a thing since their freshman year in high school. She was a nurse at the local doctor's office, and Emmett was a man of all trades, but lately, he'd been spending more time out at Bella's than anywhere else, she noticed.

"Busy," he replied, draping his hand over the steering wheel. "Said lots of kids have been coming in with a stomach bug. Must be pretty nasty."

Bella frowned. "That sucks."

Emmett hummed his agreement.

"So, um, Alice will be coming down to the barn today, so be mindful of her, okay?"

The man nodded, his eyes shifting from her to the house. They may not have told him the details, but Bella suspected that Emmett knew more than she wanted. She would trust him, if she hadn't learned a long time ago not to trust anymore.

"Yeah, all right," he murmured. "Anything else?"

"Fence on the north side of the land fell down again."

"Once I get the supplies in, that won't happen anymore," Emmett said, tapping his fingers on the dash. "I'll patch it up again, but may need to light a fire under some asses, if you catch my meaning."

Bella nodded. "I'll stop by and have a chat with him."

"Be careful," Emmett told her before shifting into drive and pulling away from her truck.

"I'm always careful," she muttered to herself. "Always.

—BR—

Bella pulled up in front of Newton's Lumber Yard and Hardware store half an hour later. Placing both her hands on the steering wheel, Bella surveyed the area, like she always did when she drove through town. After leaving bodies in her wake, she knew she had to be extra careful, even though she'd tripled checked to make sure she couldn't be connected to Forks. At least, not legally. Legally, Isabella Swan died in a car accident just outside of Casper Wyoming after filling her tank with gas and driving it off the ledge of a mountain. Her body had been too charged to be seen, not that anyone cared. But as far as the State of Washington was concerned, she was dead, but Annabelle Masen was alive and well. Well, she was alive, anyway.

Taking a deep breath and pulling her sunglasses off the top of her head and over her eyes, she pushed open the truck door and climbed out. She used her hip to close the door and walked up to the front door of the lumber yard, pulling it open.

Mike Newton, owner and operator, looked up from his stool behind the counter, a grimace filling his features. "It's on backorder, Anna, I can't do nothing about that."

Ignoring his clever use of a double negative, Bella pushed her sunglasses on top of her shortly, cropped brown hair. "So you say. But my order has been on backorder for two months. Now, I've had patience with you, haven't I?"

"Yes, ma'am," he crooned.

"Don't call me ma'am, Mike!" Bella groaned, placing both her hands on the counter. "I need my wood."

The man's lips twitched and Bella struggled not to roll her eyes. Mike Newton was forty, going on fourteen. He found sexual innuendoes in everything. "Am I going to have to call them myself?"

The smirk fell of his face as he shook his head. "No, I'll call them."

Though he just stood there. Bella reached across the table, ignoring the way he flinched, and grabbed the phone, throwing it at him.

"Now?" he whined, but started punching in the number.

While Mike called and asked about her order, demanding that they do better than a hopeful two more weeks, Bella looked around the shop. She'd always liked the feel of wood beneath her fingers, the combination of smooth and rough edges. In another life, she could have been a carpenter or maybe an architect, or something instead of a nothing.

"Anna," Mike called, drawing her attention back to him. "They've given me a guarantee that your order will be here in eight days, or they will refund your costs, plus an additional twenty percent."

"Hmm, okay," Bella said. "Thanks, Mike."

"You're welcome."

After leaving the lumber yard, Bella headed to the farmers market and picked up as much as she could carry. Fresh corn, potatoes, carrots, and green beans, not to mention the fruit. It would be getting too cold soon for fresh foods. Once she'd paid for her selection, she stopped by the grocery store and picked up some milk, eggs, butter, the usual before heading down to the bakery.

Whitlock Bakery was owned and operated by a man named Jasper Whitlock. He was a handsome fellow with long blond hair that he wore in a ponytail. He was tall, at least six foot five, and had soulful blue eyes. Jasper was standing behind the counter, placing freshly made donuts in the glass case when Bella walked in. He looked over at her and smiled.

"Hey, I was starting to think you'd forgotten about me," he teased, placing his empty tray on top and limping to the cash register.

Bella didn't know why he had a limp, she never asked and he never told her. She and Alice had stumbled in here one morning after a particular bad night had them driving around the area, trying to out run their ghosts. Alice had become smitten with him, though she barely said two words to him.

"Where've you been hiding?" he asked.

"Not hiding," she said. "Just been . . . busy."

"Busy, huh?" he scoffed. "I see how you are. Too busy to come see me. Good thing my feelings don't get hurt easily."

"Yeah, good thing," Bella laughed.

Jasper smiled and looked away. "Where's Alice?"

"At the ranch," she told him, silently laughing at the way his ears pinked when he said her name. "She asked me to bring her one of your chocolate cupcakes, though."

"With red sprinkles," he murmured.

"Yep."

"Is that all you need?" he asked, scribbling her order.

"I need my usual haul," she said, leaning against the front counter. "Haven't seen anything unusual lately, have you?"

Jasper paused and looked up at her before shaking his head. "Not unless you count Mike Newton pissing in the alley behind Buck's as unusual."

"Ew," Bella grimaced, and turned so that she was looking out the front window.

"Yeah, it wasn't my favorite sight, either."

Bella hummed as she walked over to the front window just as a black, mustang zoomed past. An overwhelming urge to follow it surged through her, causing her to panic for a moment. Which she couldn't explain. It was just a car, right?

"Okay, Darlin, think I got everything," Jasper said, drawing her attention back to him. He frowned. "You okay?"

"Yeah," she lied, unsure if she was or not. "How much do I own you?"

Jasper gave her a hard look before he turned to the register and started ringing up her order. "Fifty two even."

Bella dug the cash out of her back pocket and slapped a fifty and a five on the counter. "Keep the change," she said, before tucking the box of desserts under her arm.

"You don't need to tip me," he argued, but she was already half-way out the door. "Anna!"

Bella ignored him as she climbed back into her truck and shoved the pastries onto the passenger's seat. She pulled her seatbelt on as she started the truck, shifted in reverse, and sped back out to the ranch, a feeling of foreboding resting on her shoulders.

—BR—

Twenty-five minutes later, and a couple of sharp turns, Bella parked her truck outside of the house, right behind the black mustang. Her heart clenched in her chest as she climbed out, grabbing the milk, butter, and eggs from the backseat, carrying them into the house. She expected to find Aro and Alice in the living room with their visitor, but nobody was inside the house. She stowed the groceries in the fridge before pushing open the back door and making her way to the barn.

She was five feet away when she heard a man's voice say, "When will Anna be back?"

A smile spread over her lips as Aro replied, "I don't know, but I can have her call you."

"No need," Bella said, stepping into the barn and pulling the attention of Emmett, Aro, Alice, who was hiding behind her grandfather, and Edward Masen to her. "Took you long enough."

He smirked before he turned and walked up to her, wrapping his arms around her body and pressing his lips against hers.

**Thank you for reading. This is the sequel to Carlisle's Gift, so if you haven't read it, there may be things in here that you don't understand. Be warned that it's a . . . hard story to read. Now, this one won't be nearly as violent or brutal as the first. This is mostly going to be about their healing and a lot of unanswered questions will be answered. Like why Edward Masen is kissing our dear Bella.**


	2. Chapter 2

2

Bella gasped for air as she pulled her lips away from Edward's. Tears flooded her eyes, emotions welled up inside her, and for the first time in a year, she allowed herself to feel. To really feel, and not just pretend that everything in her life was all right.

"I'm sorry it took me so long," Edward whispered, bring his hands up to both sides of his face and leaning his forehead against hers.

"All that matters is that you're here right now. You are, aren't you?" Bella asked.

Edward nodded before shifting his attention to where Aro, Alice, and Emmett were standing, watching the two of them with shock on their faces. Especially Aro and Alice. She had kept herself at a distance as much as she could, not wanting to get too close in case she had to leave them. Making the decision to follow their plan and meet up with them in South Carolina had been harder than she expected. A part of her wondered if she would have done them a favor by never arriving on the small ranch she'd managed to secure just before she went to Hell. She knew they'd need somewhere safe to hide, to wait, to survive, but that didn't mean she had to be with them for that to happen.

"Aren't you going to introduce me?" Edward asked, tilting his head toward them.

"Um," Bella hesitated before saying, "Yeah, I guess. Edward, this is Aro and Alice. And behind them is Emmett. He pretty much runs this place."

Edward smiled as he held his hand out to Aro first. "It's nice to meet you. Anna's told me a lot about you, sir."

"Can't say the same about you, Edward," Aro stated, shifting his eyes from him to Bella. "Is this the same Edward from the . . ." He trailed off, letting his words hang in the air.

Bella nodded.

Edward cocked an eyebrow at Bella, clearly confused. She shook her head, trying to tell him that she'd explain later, when they were alone. It wasn't that she didn't trust Aro or Alice, or even Emmett. She didn't trust anyone other than Edward, and even her trust in him had been slowly given.

"Anyway, Edward and I have a lot of catching up to do, so if you'll excuse us," Bella said.

Bella and Edward turned toward the door, but stopped when they heard Alice speaking. "I saw you on T.V. You were there, weren't you?"

Edward and Bella turned back to her. She was clutching onto her grandfather's back, her fingers wrapped around his shirt so tight Bella could see the white in her knuckles. Her black eyes were wide and full of fear.

"After we left, you were there, right?" she asked.

Edward looked at Bella before saying, "I was."

"Did you find them all?" Alice asked, her voice barely louder than a whisper, yet everyone's attention was on her. Which was unusual, especially with Emmett standing in the barn with them. She rarely spoke in front of him.

"We did."

Alice shifted her eyes from him to Bella, before giving them a small nod and turning her attention to the black horse behind her.

Bella slipped her hand into Edward's and pulled him out of the barn door and toward the house. She stopped at her truck and loaded his arms with the fruits and veggies she'd bought at the farmer's market before grabbing the box of pastries and leading him into the house, straight through to the kitchen. He placed his bags on the table and waited until she'd set the pastries down before placing his hands on her hips and pulling her toward him, ignoring the way she tensed at his touch.

"I've been so worried about you," he murmured.

"Me, too," she admitted. "About you, I mean. I knew I was fine."

"But you're not, are you?" Edward asked.

She sighed, knowing how well he knew her. He was the only person to really know her. "No, I'm not."

Edward cradled her against him, one hand resting on the lower part of her back while the other came up to the back of her head. "Should never have agreed to the plan."

"Worked, didn't it?" she murmured, gripping his shirt between her fingers.

"Guess so."

Bella shifted her head back and looked up at him. "Did you really stop them?"

"We managed to track down about ninety percent of those involved in Cullen's operation, including a few senators who managed to keep their names out of the papers by turning against others higher up the chain than them. We found brothels with hundreds of people being held against their will, most of them were runaways who had never even been reported missing."

"And what about me? Still no leads on me, are there?" Bella asked.

Edward smiled. "No, baby, you covered your tracks well. As far as the bureau is concerned Isabella Swan died in a horrible accident just outside of Casper Wyoming after taking a curve too fast and rolling down the side of a mountain. The car was then engulfed in flames, taking Isabella's life in the process. The Bureau officially closed your case a couple months back."

"Did they link me to any of the bodies?"

"No," Edward said, softly. "Everything tied back to Eleazar Santiago, just as we planned. They've filed multiple murder charges against him and Demetri Romanoff, as well as hundreds of counts of human trafficking, tax fraud, and other charges. Neither of those men will be seeing the outside of a Federal prison for the rest of their lives."

Bella turned to the table and began unpacking the groceries she'd bought. "How long are you staying?"

"That depends," Edward said, causing her to look back at him. "How's forever sound?"

"Are you serious? What about your job?"

"Well," Edward grimaced, "it appears that I've gotten too emotionally involved in my work, and they feel it's best if I take a leave of absence for a while. You know, while I get my head on straight and remember that my personal life has no bearing on the cases that are still open. Which means, I'm yours until you get tired of me."

"So basically forever," Bella replied with a smile that quickly shifted into a frown. "But that's not possible."

"Why not?" Edward asked.

"Because we need eyes and ears on the inside. What if they reopen the case against me? Or find out I killed those people?"

"That's why I've set it up where I can monitor everything from here. They'll never know I'm tapped into their system, either. I'm that good."

"Are you sure?"

Edward grabbed her hips and pulled her back toward him. "I'm sure. Nothing will keep me away from my wife again, Bella."

"Wife?" Aro asked, causing them to look toward the doorway of the kitchen, where he and Alice were standing. Alice took one look at Edward before she ran upstairs, leaving her grandfather alone with the two.

"She's still having a hard time, huh?" Edward asked, frowning.

"She went through a lot," Bella murmured,

"Bella, you're married to this young man?" Aro asked, stepping into the room.

She nodded. "Guess it's time for me to explain him, huh?"

"A little past time, if you ask me," Aro grumbled and sat at the table. "Please explain why you're married to the man you indicated was with the FBI."

Bella sighed and sat across from the old man. "You don't know much about who I was before I started researching Carlisle Cullen. My father was never what one would call attentive. After my mother passed away, he lost himself in his grief, turned to alcohol to sooth his pain, I guess, and forgot about me. Unless he needed money. He never seemed to have a problem with asking me to cover his debts."

"Asshole," Edward muttered, sitting in the chair next to her.

"I've always been good with computers. When I was fourteen, I started hacking into people's personal accounts, taking money from them. Small enough amounts that nobody noticed. I was smart. Fifty here, twenty there. People would just assume they'd forgotten about a tank of gas or written a check out wrong. I started socking away the money for when the time came that I needed to leave my father. I knew I couldn't stay there, not with the way he drank. Eventually he'd lose the house, lose everything, and I needed to protect myself. I was sixteen when Edward found me. He'd caught me trying to hack into a bank in L.A., shut me down in about two seconds. Of course I was terrified, sure that the cops were going to come busting in my door and haul me off to jail, but weeks past and they never did.

"Then one night, while I was surfing the net, my computer screen turned black and 'Meet me in ten minutes in front of the high school' flashed across. I probably shouldn't have gone, but I was intrigued. Charlie was passed out in front of the television, so it wasn't exactly much of a challenge. When I got to the school, I found Edward sitting on the front steps with a manila folder in his hands."

Aro shifted his eyes to Edward. "You tracked her down after one hack."

"No," he said. "I had been watching her for a while, but I needed to make sure she was . . . worth . . . bringing in."

"Bringing her in where?" Aro asked, clearly confused.

Bella brushed her tongue across her bottom lip as she looked Edward, wanting to make sure he was okay with telling him everything. He gave her a slight nod, so she leaned forward. "Edward runs a small, under-ground organization called Eclipse. They . . . Well, they keep things balanced. Making sure the powerful don't get too much power."

"Doesn't seem like it's working," Aro said, curtly.

"We do the best we can," Edward stated. "There are a lot of powerful men out there, Aro, and not that many of us willing to take up the fight."

"Hmm," he hummed, before shifting his eyes back to Bella. "So you're a part of this . . . Eclipse?"

"I am now," she said. "I resisted his offer at first, thought he was full of shit, just another asshole trying to scam people out of their money. He persisted, though. He knew Carlisle Cullen was involved in something big and something dangerous, but he didn't have the details yet. It wasn't until Leah ended her engagement to Jacob and I started my own investigation that we were able to put two and two together."

"Cullen's operation spanned further than Forks, Washington. We've been able to link him to rings all over the world. He's responsible for the trafficking of at least two hundred girls," Edward explained, pausing before adding, "Including my sister."

Aro's eyes widened. "Your sister?"

Edward nodded. "Elizabeth's ten years older than me. When I was thirteen, she disappeared after leaving a night class she was taking. Cops said she'd met someone and run away, that there was no evidence of her being taken against her will. Elizabeth wasn't the kind of girl to just leave to me. Our parents weren't what one would call supportive, and she wouldn't have left me alone with them. A few years later, I received an encrypted email from someone calling themselves 'The Red Lady.' Attached to the email was a video of Elizabeth being tortured by Carlisle Cullen. I was able to trace the message to the east coast, as far up as Sacramento, but the signal disappeared before I could pinpoint her location. For the next seven years, I searched Heaven and Hell for my sister. I joined the FBI, thinking they would help, but my sister's case was considered closed. So I said fuck it, and decided if they weren't going to help, I'd do it myself. I created Eclipse, started recruiting some of the best hackers in the country. About a year later, I found Bella trying to break into my bank account."

"I didn't know it was yours," she mumbled.

"I know." Edward winked at her before turning his attention back to Aro. "I tracked her activity for a while, saw how good she really was, and then reached out to her. As she said, she resisted my offer, but when her friend started working for Cullen, I . . . I got a bad feeling. Then when Leah broke off her engagement, pushed everyone away, I suspected that Cullen had gotten to her. Together, Bella and I were able to put together the pieces. Then she met you, and learned about your granddaughter. Though I didn't want her to, Bella made the decision to get inside Cullen's network."

"I didn't much want her to, either," Aro groused, and Bella rolled her eyes. They'd had this argument too many times to count over the last couple years. "You put yourself in danger, Bella. Too much danger!"

"I did what I had to in order to save Alice, to save Leah, and every other person who found themselves enslaved to that monster," Bella snarled.

"Elizabeth is your sister?" At the sound of Alice's voice, they turned their attention to stairs, where they found her half-hiding behind the wooden railing.

"You know Elizabeth?" Edward asked, standing up.

Alice scrambled to her feet and moved up two steps as she nodded. "She was nice to me."

"She was in Forks with you?" Edward asked, softly and putting his hands up as he took a couple steps toward her.

Alice bobbed her head up and down as she took a couple more steps backward. "Mistress Esme likes her girls young and scared. Elizabeth got too old, too numb. She was sold."

"To who?" Edward asked, nearly pleading with Alice as he rushed to the bottom of the stairs.

Alice disappeared out of view, but Bella heard her say, "They called him the Sandman."

**Thank you for all the reviews. I know this is a bit confusing, but we'll get there.**


	3. Chapter 3

3

"The Sandman?" Edward asked, grabbing the railing of the stairs, like he was about to charge up the staircase. "Who's the Sandman?"

But Alice didn't answer, and based on the sound of footsteps retreating, she'd ran into her bedroom and slammed the door shut. Bella brought her hand up to her throat as Edward turned and looked back at her.

"Who the fuck is the Sandman?" he asked.

"I don't know," she murmured. "There was no mention of him in Cullen's files."

Edward closed his eyes for a moment before walking back to the table and sitting in the chair he'd just abandoned. "But she was there. In Forks. Elizabeth was there, Bella."

"I know." Bella slid her hand across the table, wrapping her fingers around his forearm, right over a tattoo of a lilac with the initials E.A.M beneath it, in honor of his sister. "At least we have a new breadcrumb to follow. We'll find her, honey."

"Yeah," Edward whispered, covering her hand with his as he looked over at Aro. "Sorry about that."

"Don't be," the old man groused. "So, you and Bella are married."

Bella felt a small smile tug on her lips. "We are. For almost a year and a half now."

"Why didn't you tell me?" Aro asked, frowning.

Sighing, Bella shook her head. "Because I couldn't tell anyone, not without exposing myself and Edward. When Edward and I met, I didn't trust him. I'd learned a long time ago not to trust anyone, and he wasn't any different. Other than the kids from the Rez, I didn't have anyone, and I wanted to keep it that way, but after Leah, I knew I would need help, so I contacted Edward, told him I was in. My job was pretty simple. I monitored the internet, searched for any trace of Cullen's network and passed along any information I found to Edward, who would dispatch his team where needed. A few months after I signed on, I found a lead on a girl in San Francisco. I thought it was his sister, but it turned out to be a runaway from Ohio, but it was still a win because that girl . . . Well, she'd been through hell. Anyway, a few days later I got a message from Edward to meet him at the school again. When I showed up, I could tell he was upset."

Edward cleared his throat, pulling Aro's attention to him. "Felt like Elizabeth had slipped through my fingers again, and . . ." Pausing, he seemed to take a minute to compose himself. "Felt like I was chasing a ghost, you know? Still feels that way, actually. But I felt this overwhelming urge to see Bella. She always seemed to make things better, make things more tolerable. The moment I saw her walking up to me, I just . . ." Edward learned forward, placing his elbow on the table. "I'd fallen for her. Hard. She and I talked all night, about my sister, my parents and how they hadn't given a fuck about Elizabeth. About her dad and her mom's death, about how alone she felt. I just . . . I needed her. As the sun was rising, I kissed her."

"And I slapped him," Bella giggled.

"And then kissed me again," Edward scoffed, shifting his eyes to hers. "And again and again."

"Yeah, yeah, so I kissed you a lot," she quipped, turning her attention to Aro. "Edward was — is — the only person who really saw me, the real me. I fell so hard for him. And then I met you, and I found out about Alice, and really saw what Leah was going through, I just . . . I knew I had to do something."

"Not let that asshole touch you," Edward groused.

Bella sighed.

"I begged you not to go in," Edward said. "I fucking begged, Bella!"

"Someone had to save them," she argued.

"Why you?" he asked.

"Because there was nobody else," Bella whimpered, leaning her forehead on his shoulder. "I hated every minute with him. He . . . and I . . . I just . . ." Bile crept up her throat and she shuddered, trying to push back the memories that had haunted her for a year. Leaning away from him, she wiped the tears off her face. "When I approached Edward with the idea of me going undercover to take Cullen down, he . . . Well, he wasn't happy."

"Damn right I wasn't. Still not," he groused.

"But in the end, he knew it was my decision, and mine alone. We needed him in place with the FBI to come in as soon as I had freed Alice and Leah, and the incriminating information about Cullen and everyone involved in his organization. Though, I'll admit that I wasn't expecting half of what I found," she admitted, darkly once more thinking about her father and how he'd lusted after her. She hadn't been prepared for him to turn on her. She'd always known her father was a loser, but to be so sick and twisted . . .

"I may have agreed, but I didn't want her going in there, letting him touch her without knowing that there was someone out there who loved her, who cherished her," Edward said, sliding his arm around her waist and nestling her in his embrace. "I confessed that I'd fallen in love with her and asked her to marry me."

"And I said no," she murmured. "And then he asked me again and again and again."

"And finally, after a dozen tries, she agreed," Edward laughed, kissing the top of her head.

"I wanted to say yes the first time you asked," she whispered. "I wanted to run away with you and never look back."

"Me, too, baby," Edward murmured, bringing his other hand up to her face. "I've missed you so much."

Tears flooded Bella's eyes as she leaned into his touch.

"You were sixteen," Aro whispered, drawing their attention to him. "Right? You were sixteen when you married him?"

Bella slowly nodded.

Aro looked at Edward. "How old were you?"

"Nineteen," he replied, and when Aro cocked an eyebrow, he added, "I'm smart."

"Hmm," Aro hummed and looked back at Bella. "How'd you get parental consent?"

"I, um, I was able to trick my . . ." She paused, trying to keep from puking as she, once more, thought of her father. "After getting parental approval, Edward and I were married in a small ceremony in Port Angeles. Just the two of us and the Justice of the Peace. As Annabella and Edward Masen, of course. It wasn't hard to create my new identity. Not for me, anyway. Legally, Isabella is dead."

"You could have told me," Aro whimpered, trying to be discreet as he wiped a tear off his face. "I would have walked you down the aisle, given you away."

"No, you wouldn't have," Bella disagreed. "You see me as a child, Aro. Like you do Alice. You would have fought me on getting married, just like you fought me about taking Cullen down. But I had to marry Edward. I had to. I needed him, I needed . . ." She shook her head. "I needed to know there were good and honorable men out there before I put myself in the hands of the devil."

Aro nodded. "Probably right."

"Look, I know it's kind of late, but I'd like you to know that I love Bella. She's . . . Well, she's everything to me," Edward said, smiling.

"Yet, you allowed your wife to be raped by sick, twisted monster," Aro quipped. "How could you allow that to happen?"

Edward flinched as Bella slammed her hand on the table, drawing the old man's attention to her. "He doesn't allow me to do anything. He does not own me. I'm my own person, I make my own decisions. And if I hadn't let that monster rape me, I wouldn't have found Alice and she would still be in the hands of that bitch!"

Aro pressed his lips together before standing up and walking upstairs without another word. Bella sighed and leaned back in her chair, shifting her attention to Edward. "Sorry about him. He's . . . Well, he's the grandfather I never had."

"He's the father you never had," Edward murmured, turning in his chair so that he was facing her. "Now, tell me how you're really doing."

"I'm . . ." Bella wanted to tell him she was fine, that she had everything under control, but she couldn't lie to him. Not to Edward. "I don't know how I am. I knew it would be bad. I . . . I knew he would hurt me, but . . . The things he did, the way he regarded me, Edward. I was nothing more than a toy to him. I kept thinking there had to be a reason he was like that, a catalyst that drove him to being so sadistic, but there wasn't one. He was just a sadist, wasn't he?"

Edward tensed and nodded.

"I liked killing him," Bella whispered. "I loved it, actually. Hurting him, making him feel every ounce of pain that he inflicted on me, I . . . I enjoyed it, Edward. Doesn't that make me a sadist, too?"

"No," he immediately said cupping her face between his hands. "No, baby, no."

"He screamed," she cried. "I wanted to keep hurting him, but I didn't have time, so I killed him quicker than I wanted. And, um, then I went for Alice. She . . . Esme was easier. Killing her was like ending a bad dream. Once I had Alice safe, I went for Leah."

Bella closed her eyes, leaning into his touch. "I . . . My father wanted to have sex with me, Edward. He made Leah call him Daddy, he called her by my name. What . . . How could he look at me like that? I'm his daughter, for fuck sake!"

"Can't say I saw that coming, either," Edward admitted.

Bella leaned back in her seat, pulling her face out of his hands. "I'm sorry I wasn't able to find Elizabeth in his files. I thought for sure he'd have a record of her somewhere."

"Yeah, me, too," he murmured, but before he could say anything else two things happened: his phone started ringing and someone knocked on the front door.

Bella pushed away from the table and scrambled to her feet while Edward answered his phone. When she pulled the door open, she was expecting to find Emmett standing there, but was shocked when she found both him, Rose, and Jasper.

"Um, hey," Bella murmured, but before she could say anything more, Edward slammed his hand against the wall and yelled, "WHAT!?"

She spun around and looked at him, finding herself staring at him with wide, fearful eyes. He shook his head and said, "That is unacceptable . . . No . . . No . . . No! Get it done already."

Edward slammed his phone closed and brought his hand up, dragging it over his face and through his hair before he lifted his eyes to hers, only to look past her at Emmett, Rose, and Jasper. "It's about fucking time you got here."

"Huh?" Bella asked, but it was Jasper's voice that pulled her attention to the people standing behind her.

"I'm sorry. Had to store full of people."

"What the Hell is going on here?" Bella snarled, looking from Jasper, Emmett, and Rose to Edward. "You know them?"

Nodding, Edward shoved his phone into his back pocket. "Meet the other members of Eclipse."


	4. Chapter 4

4

Edward's words hit Bella like a ton of bricks. Emmett, Rose, and Jasper were members of Eclipse? They were a part of his organization, and what? He had them watching her?

Bella shifted her eyes from Edward to Jasper and then to Rose and Emmett before she shook her head and stepped away from all of them. "You've know who I was for a year, haven't you?"

"Yes," the three of them murmured, looking from her to Edward, who had his hands on his hips.

"You lied to me," Bella whispered, pushing past the three of them and running outside. She gasped for air, tried to keep the panic that she'd worked so hard at keeping at bay from rushing to the surface.

"Bella, wait!" Edward yelled, following her outside. He grabbed her arm and spun her toward him, but let her go when Bella screamed and brought her arms up over her head, protecting herself. "Hey, I'm not going to hurt you."

"You fucking lied to me, Edward!" she screamed, clenching her hands into fists. "We had a plan. A fucking plan, and they weren't a part of it! I trusted you. With everything I have, I fucking trusted you, and what do you do? You fucking lied to me!"

"I know," he said, calmly. "And I'm sorry, but I needed people in place in case you . . ." He trailed off, pressing his lips together.

"In case I what? Freaked out and started butchering people? Is that what you think of me? That I'm a stone-cold killer, preparing to take my next victim? Well, fuck you! I did what I had to do to survive."

"I know you did, Bella," he exclaimed. "But you shouldn't have been there in the first place." Edward brought his hand up to the back of his neck, and shook his head. "Every day for weeks, I sat there, waiting for word from you, knowing that he was . . . that he was hurting you. You're my wife, and I had to sit there, knowing that he was fucking you like a whore!"

Bella turned from him, staring at the barn. "A whore, huh? He called me a whore. I wasn't Bella, or even Isabella with him. No, I was a whore. Whore, whore, whore. That's all I was to him. To you, too, I guess."

She heard Edward sigh and a moment later, he placed his hands on her hips, sliding his arms around her. "I'm sorry. That's not what I meant. I just . . . I just needed someone here, someone to watch over you until it was safe for me to come to you. So I didn't blow the plan and show up here the night you left."

Edward pressed his lips to the top of her head. "We got to his house just after noon, and they hadn't moved his body yet. He was . . . he was just lying there, naked and covered in blood. I stood in the doorway, imagining every horrible, disgusting, brutal thing he'd done to you. I wanted to carve him into little pieces. I wanted to rip his arms off and light his body on fire. I wanted . . . I wanted to kill again and again."

Bella bit her lip as she turned in his arms, placing her hands on his chest. "Me, too."

Edward brought his hand up to the side of her face. "I'm sorry I lied to you. I love you so much, Bella, and I . . . I needed to know you were safe."

"I love you, too," she murmured.

"Do you forgive me for being an ass?" he asked, smiling.

Bella bit the inside of her lip as she nodded. "Just don't treat me like a fragile little flower. I'm stronger than you think I am."

"I just wish you didn't have to be," he whispered, before pressing his lips against hers. "Come on. We have work to do."

Bella suppressed a sigh, but followed Edward back into the house. She felt uncomfortable with the people seated in the living room, the ones she'd barely allowed in her life over the last year. She didn't trust anyone, but they were the closest people she had to friends, and she'd come to care for them.

Aro was seated at the base of the stairs, his eyes following Bella as she walked across the living room and sat on the hearth of the fireplace. The old man looked tired and worn, and she worried about the stress of trying to save Alice was hurting him. Aro had fought for his granddaughter, but would it cost him his health.

Emmett had his arm around Rose, who was watching Bella's every step. She hadn't gotten to know the tall, leggy blond well; it had been safer to keep as many people as she could at arm's length just in case she had to take off again. But here she was, having been placed by Edward to babysit his fucked-in-the-head wife.

Edward cleared his throat, pulling everyone's attention to him. "We have a . . . situation." He shifted his attention to Bella. "With Leah."

"Leah?" she asked, sharply.

Edward nodded. "She attacked Seth with a knife. Cut him pretty badly."

"Is he okay?" Bella asked, sharply.

"He survived, but it was touch and go for a while. My team managed to stop her before she . . ." His words hung in the air as he looked at Bella.

"Killed him," she whispered. "Before she killed him."

Edward's head barely nodded.

"You had someone watching them, too? More spies."

"I did," he admitted. "But it's too much for them. They can't handle her anymore, so we need to decide how to proceed."

"Who do you have on her?" Jasper asked, and when she looked at him, she found that he was watching her. He quickly looked away.

"Tyler." Edward moved to the hearth and say next to Bella, sliding his arm around her waist. "He has Ben and Ang with him, but I think we need to consider moving them."

"Where?" Bella asked, causing him to look down at her. "Here?"

"Yes," he murmured.

"But the plan . . . I mean . . ." Bella shook her head. "We can't be together. We can't . . . It's too dangerous. Reckless and stupid."

"Nobody is looking for them, honey." Edward lifted his hand to the back of her head before turning back to the group, his body tensing. "Hello, Alice."

Everyone turned and looked at her as she stood halfway up the staircase behind her grandfather, but her attention was on Jasper, who had stood up. "Why are you here?"

"I came to see you," Jasper said, smiling. "I brought you some more cupcakes. They're out in my truck."

"Chocolate with red sprinkles?" Alice asked, her eyes widening and the hint of a smile on her lips.

"Of course," Jasper laughed, holding his hand to her. "Want to help me get them?"

Alice shook her head and stepped backward.

"It's okay. I'll get them myself. Just hope I don't eat all of them before I get back," he teased, but Bella knew he'd never do that to Alice. To anyone else maybe, but not her. "Excuse me for a moment."

Edward gave him a subtle nod. Jasper rushed out of the house, coming back in a minute later with three large, white boxes in his hands. He placed them on the coffee table, opened the top box, and picked up a large, chocolate cupcake that was covered in red sprinkles. Turning, he walked over to the stairs so that he was standing a few feet from Aro, and held the cupcake out to Alice.

"I made this one just for you," he told her. Alice didn't move toward him, however, so Jasper sighed and handed Aro the cupcake. "For her."

"Thank you," Aro whispered, and once Jasper had taken a step backward, he shifted his body on the stairs and held the cupcake out to Alice, who wrapped her tiny hands around it and brought it to her lips, sucking half the sprinkles off in one go. Aro laughed, the first real laugh Bella had ever heard from the old man. "Slow down, dolce nipote. You'll get a stomach ache."

"Will not," Alice whispered, sitting behind her grandfather, almost as if she was hiding from everyone.

Aro smiled and looked back at Bella. "You just watch; she'll be complaining about not feeling good."

"Let her eat; she's earned it and a hundred more," Bella murmured, standing up and walking into the kitchen. She braced herself against the counter, taking several deep breaths. Her nerves were on fire, her body tense and ridged, and she was struggling more than ever to keep control of her sense.

"Hey," Edward murmured, causing her to turn and look at him. He was leaning against the doorjamb, a frown tugging on his lips. "You okay?"

Bella shook her head. "I've put smile on my face and pretended I've had everything together for so long, I almost believed I wasn't broken. But then I see them sitting in there, and they know what I've done, who I am, and it makes me realize just how fucked up I really am."

Edward didn't say anything, just stood there and stared at her.

"It's too dangerous to bring them here," she said, softly. "The plans been working. It's reckless to mess with it now."

Still, Edward didn't say anything, standing against the doorframe with his arms crossed in front of him.

"Jake can handle Leah. Or Sam. He's strong. He just . . . He just needs to be told what to do. How . . . how to handle her, right?"

Once more, Edward simply stared at her.

Growing frustrated, Bella turned and faced the counter, her hands gripping the front of the granite countertop. Her eyes flickered to the dish drain, a large butcher knife shining brightly. The urge to wrap her fingers around the handle was intense, yet she resisted, afraid of what she'd do if she picked it up, felt the power that came with such a weapon.

Bella released a thick breath as she pushed away from the counter and faced Edward. "I, um, I have things that need to be done."

She wrapped her arms around her torso and walked past him, stopping when Edward's arm wrapped around her waist, pulling her toward him. "She needs us. They need us."

Tears flooded her eyes as she whispered, "Haven't I done enough for them?"

And without giving him a chance to respond, Bella gently pushed his arm off her and walked through the living room and out of the house. She headed straight to the barn, stopping in front of the large, brown and white horse she'd bought six months ago. The horse lowered its head toward her, nuzzling her.

"You get me, don't you, Daisy," Bella whispered. The horse neighed. "Wanna go for a ride?"

The horse neighed again, lifting her head upward. Bella laughed and began saddling the horse. Once she was ready, she climbed on to the saddle and directed Daisy out of the barn and into the pasture. As Daisy began trotting, Bella closed her eyes and for a moment, enjoyed the feeling of being free.

—BR—

Emmett was in the barn when Bella returned. She paused in the doorway for a moment, but then tied the reigns to one of the posts. As she began unbuckling her saddle, she heard Emmett clear his throat.

"Something on your mind, Emmett?" Bella asked, hoisting the leather saddle off the horse. She carried it over to the table and tossed it on top and then turned to look at the man she'd hired to care for her ranch.

"No," he said, quietly. "Did you have a nice ride?"

Bella nodded and pulled the padding off Daisy. "Was it easy to lie to me? When you responded to my ad, was it easy to look me in the eye and lie to me?"

"Yes."

"I don't know why I didn't see it," Bella murmured, picking up a brush and bringing her hand up around the horse's neck. "Edward's never hidden the fact that he didn't like me on my own. He never believed that I could take care of myself."

"He worried about you," Emmett replied. "Can't blame him for worrying, can you?"

"No," she admitted, looking over at him. "Finish Daisy for me. I need to check on Alice."

Emmett simply nodded.

Bella tossed him the brush before she turned and walked out of the barn, heading into the house. Aro was sitting on the hearth to the fireplace while Jasper and Alice were seated on the couch, opposite ends, but so that they faced each other. Neither were speaking, but at the same time, they were sharing all their secrets.

Bella shared a look with Aro, who appeared both happy, yet terrified, and walked into the kitchen, where she found Rose and Edward. Rose was standing in front of the stove, stirring a large pot of what smelled like stew, while Edward had his laptop perched on the table in front of him. They both looked back at her, but neither of them spoke as she walked to the table and sat in the chair next to Edward. She leaned her head on his shoulder, shifting her eyes to the computer screen, which was filled with code.

"Any sign of her?" Bella whispered, knowing he was tracing all communication networks for any sign of his sister.

"No," he told her, draping arm around her shoulders. "It's been quiet. Too quiet if you ask me. Going to start searching for this Sandman person. Hopefully, he'll lead to me Elizabeth."

Bella nodded, thinking about everything she'd gone through for Leah. The pain, the hurt, the humiliation. "You really think they should come here?"

"I do," he murmured. "I know you're scared, but they're family, and we take care of family."

Bella's eyes fluttered closed. "Maybe, but who's taking care of me, while I take care of everyone else?"

When nothing but silence filled the air, she knew nobody had an answer for her.


	5. Chapter 5

5

Scorching water beat down on Bella's tense muscles and she stood with her hands pressed against the tiled stall. Her head throbbed, her shoulders ached, and every time she closed her eyes, she saw her father's fear-filled eyes staring up at her just before she plunged the knife into him again. She rarely allowed herself to think of the man who'd sold her out, who had betrayed her in the most heinous of ways. Leading him to borrow money from Carlisle Cullen had been easy, but she never expected her father to turn his back on her.

How had she missed it, though? That's what she hadn't been able to figure out in over a year. Her father had lusted after her. He wanted to be the man making her cry as he fucked her, wanted her to suck his cock. What kind of father looks at his daughter with lust and need?

"Stop thinking about him," Bella scolded herself as she pushed herself off the wall and grabbed her bottle of shampoo. She needed to get her game face on, stop letting her feelings show. She had to be strong and brave. There were too many people counting on her.

When Bella stepped out of the bathroom, she found Edward in her bed, laptop propped up on his knees, pillows behind his head as he leaned against the headboard. He wasn't wearing a shirt, but she could see the top of his pajama pants.

"Hey," she murmured, tossing her towel into the hamper and pulling on the button up she'd slipped into. It was the same shirt Edward had worn the night they slipped away to Port Angeles to get married. He'd given it to her so she would have something to hold on to when things go hard. She'd worn it every night since she escaped Hell.

"Nice shirt," he snickered, pulling the blankets back on her side of the bed.

Bella bit her lip and looked back at the door.

"You okay?" Edward asked.

"Yeah. I, um, I just need to make sure the house is locked up," she mumbled.

"I did," he insisted, closing his laptop and placing it in the bedside table before climbing out of the bed and walking toward her. "Three times. All the doors are locked, all the windows are locked. The alarm system has been activated. Alice and Aro are asleep. Now, do I need to sleep on the couch?"

Bella sighed, unsure how to respond to him.

"Talk to me," he pleaded, grabbing her hands and pulling her toward the bed.

She pulled his hands out of his, taking a step backward. "No, I just . . . I'm sorry."

Before he could stop her, Bella turned and rushed out of her bedroom. It was silly, she knew, but she had a routine, one that had gotten her through the night for a year. Once downstairs, she started at the back of the house, checking every window and door as she made her way through the front of the house. Edward was right, of course. All the doors and windows were secure, and the alarm had been set, but one couldn't be too careful, could they? There were a lot of monsters that loved to prey on women like her. Like Alice and Leah and Elizabeth.

"Feel better?" Edward asked as Bella walked into her bedroom.

She bit her lip before she nodded and carefully climbed into bed next to him. "Sorry."

"Don't be," he said, sliding his arm around her and pulling her against his chest. "I want you to feel safe here, Bella. We're not going to let anyone hurt you. Not again."

"Yeah," she whispered, but wondered how he could keep that promise while making the decision to bring Leah to the ranch.

"You're still pissed with me, aren't you?" Edward whispered. "For not telling you about Jasper, Emmett, and Rose."

Bella sat up, shifting her body so that she was facing him. "We had a plan, Edward. After I got Alice and Leah out and safe, I would disappear. Then, when the FBI wasn't looking for me any longer, you'd sneak away and join us. That was the plan."

"The plan also called for me arresting Cullen and everyone associated with him, but you kind of made that impossible, didn't you?"

Bella tensed.

"I'm sorry. That was mean," he muttered.

"No, you're right," she admitted. "I could have left him alive. Left him tied to that table, left him to go to jail. But I wanted to hear him scream for mercy. For him to beg me to stop, and he did. He begged and pleaded, cried for me to spare his life, Edward, but I fucking refused. And do you know why?"

Edward's eyes were wide as he shook his head.

Bella scooted off the bed and turned her back toward him. Taking a deep breath, she pulled right side of her shirt up and lowered, her pants and panties. "He wanted to mark me as his. Said this way I would always belong to him."

She felt Edward's fingers graze her skin, so she pulled away, covering her body again. Looking back at him, she said, "He was never going to let me go. He'd taken a liking to me, I guess. Like how I cried, how I fought him. He would spend the rest of our lives trying to break me. So I took my chance and I killed him."

Edward bent his knees up in front of him. "I don't know what to say."

"Nobody does," she muttered, moving so that she was sitting in the chair in the corner of her room. "Killing him turned out to be the hardest of all of them. Esme Platt never saw me coming. It wasn't until I plunged my knife into her back that she even knew I was there. "

Bella paused, his lips curving downward in a frown. "Charlie, on the other hand, he tried to reason with me. Looked me right in the eye and said he hadn't done anything wrong. Leah wanted him to fuck her. Wanted him to hurt her. Can you believe that?"

"No," Edward replied, softly.

"When I was little, before my mom died, we'd make pancakes every Sunday morning. He'd put me on his shoulders and run around the yard. Felt like I was flying." Bella ran her fingers through her damp hair. "I've looked back at my life, tried to find the moment that he felt the urge to touch me. I don't remember him looking at me inappropriately, his eyes didn't linger on my breasts. But he wanted me, Edward. And when he couldn't have me, he bought my best friend and made her his whore."

Bella bit her lip, shifting her eyes to her husband. "Why didn't I see it?"

"I don't know," he said.

"I wish someone knew," she murmured, laying her head on her knees. "Are you really here for good?"

"If you want me to be." Edward reached for her. "Come here."

"I . . ." Bella shook her head. "I can't sleep tonight. Too many secrets exposed today."

Edward frowned. "Maybe I should have told you they were here, but you wouldn't have felt safe knowing they were watching over you."

"No, I wouldn't," she admitted. "Did you not trust me to take care of myself?"

Edward pressed his lips together.

"I see," she chirped. "Guess I don't blame you. I did kill four people, after all."

"That's not why I didn't trust you, Bella," he argued. "Killing them, that was the right thing to do. I don't like that you have blood on your hands, though. I would rather have been the one to end their lives."

"So why don't you trust me, then?" she asked.

"Because you've been hurt, and instead of being honest about how you feel, you're keeping it all bottled up inside. You're trying to be strong for everyone, but inside, you're barely hanging on."

Bella sighed.

"Am I wrong?" Edward asked.

"No," she confessed. "But Aro can't take care of Alice on his own. Even leaving them alone when I run into town is dangerous."

"Hence why I had Emmett here, ready to step in if needed. He knows how to handle girls like Alice, sweetheart."

"And like me?" Bella asked.

Edward hesitated, but nodded.

"And Jasper?" she wondered. "What is his specialty?"

"Besides baked goods?" Edward snickered.

"Obviously," she scoffed.

"Jasper spent almost ten years in the army, some of those years in Special Ops, which he refuses to talk about. He's an expert tracker."

"Ah, I see," Bella murmured. "And Rose? Are she and Emmett really married?"

"Yes, they are," Edward said. "I told you Emmett knows how to handle girls like Alice, didn't I? Where do you think he learned it? Rose has a PHD in criminal psychology and she's a licensed physician. You should ask her to tell you their story sometimes."

"Maybe," she said. "So, when are the others getting here?"

Edward's shoulders tensed. "A few days. Seth's not ready to be moved, and he won't stay behind."

"Would you?" Bella asked. "If it was Elizabeth?"

"No," he admitted. "Which is why I'm willing to wait a few days."

"They shouldn't be coming here at all," Bella muttered. "Why can't your other team handle them?"

"I thought they could, but . . ." Edward moved so that he was sitting on the edge of the bed. "If I didn't think it was in their best interest to come here, I wouldn't bring them. But Leah's a loose cannon, Bella. She saw you kill your dad."

"She won't tell anyone," Bella argued.

"She already did," Edward said, quietly. "On my way through Texas, I stopped by and checked on them. Ben's reports kept talking about how agitated she was, how he was worried about hurting someone. Ben and Angela are set up in a small diner, said Leah's a regular. So, I figured I'd grab a cup of coffee and a piece of pie on my way through, get a firsthand view of how she's doing. They were already there when I walked in. I sat at the counter, gave Ang my order. I had only been there a few minutes when Leah excused herself, saying she needed to use the ladies' room. On her way back out, she sat next to me, asked my name, where I'm from. Bella, there was a darkness in her eyes that had me on edge. I slapped some cash on the counter to pay for my coffee and pie and turned to leave when she said she'd seen someone get murdered, said she'd enjoyed it. I looked back at her. She had a butter knife in her hand. I don't know, I just . . . She needs more than Ben, Tyler, and Angela can give her."

"And you think bringing her here is a good idea?" Bella asked. The sound of Alice screaming echoed into the bedroom. Bella scrambled to her feet. "How do you think Alice is going to handle having someone else here? That girl is barely hanging on."

"I don't know, okay? I don't!" Edward exclaimed, standing up. "Not like there's a handbook."

"Send Emmett, Rose, and Jasper to them," Bella suggested.

Edward scoffed.

"We don't need them here," Bella argued.

"Yes, we do," he replied, placing his hands on his hips. "You're too close to this situation to see it clearly."

"Too close?" she murmured. "This was my plan, remember?"

"Yeah, I do," he said. "Because my plan didn't call for you to put yourself in a sadist's fucking hands."

Bella pressed her lips together. "You're never going to forgive me, are you?"

"You didn't do anything that I need to forgive, Bella. I just wish you would have listened to reason before putting your plan in action."

"It was the only way to find them," she argued.

"No, it wasn't," he snarled. "We could have taken him out long before you went under."

"Yeah, and saved Leah, but not Alice, or any of the people that Esme had in the warehouse. Find the connection between Elizabeth and whoever this Sandman is."

"Maybe," he conceded.

Bella bit the inside of her lip as she walked across her bedroom and placed her hands on his chest. "I wish like hell there had been any other way to take him down, to destroy him and everyone connected to him, but I did what I had to do, Edward."

"And so have I." Edward brought his hands up to her face. "I needed people I trusted to be here in case you needed help. Please, don't be angry with me."

Bella sighed. "I'm not. I just don't like being lied to by the man I love."

Edward smiled. "I love you, too. Now, come to bed."

Tensing, Bella started to move away, but Edward dropped his hands to her hips. "Please. I want to hold my wife. Nothing more."

"I'm just . . . I'm just not ready for . . . more."

"I know. Just holding, I promise."

With a sigh, Bella nodded. As she and Edward settled in bed, his arms wrapped around her, the feel of his heart beating, Bella's eyes drifted close, and not even the sound of Alice's screaming could keep her awake.

**Long time, I know. Took a bit longer to finish my book, but I did. Hope you're still here for the ride. It's not going to be an easy one.**


	6. Chapter 6

A Zoe Mack Novel by Lisa Bilbrey

6

Bella lifted her coffee cup to her lips, taking a small sip. She was sitting on the front porch, watching the sun rise. The air was cool, but not cold. She'd pulled on one of Edward's sweatshirts, but mostly for comfort of having him close, than a need to be warm. She'd left him in bed.

While sleep had come easier, she still found herself waking at every creak, every noise. And most mornings, she found herself escaping to the front porch, needing the fresh air she'd been denied for so long.

Her attention was pulled toward the dirt driveway as Emmett's beat up pick-up kicked up a cloud of dust. Her shoulders tensed as he parked in front of the house, climbed out, and pulled a beat up duffle bag onto his shoulder. Emmett smiled as he took each step with ease and control.

"Morning," he said, leaning against the pillow just feet from her.

"Good morning, Emmett," she said, stiffly. "Where's Rose?"

"At the clinic. Gotta keep up appearances." He shifted so that he was facing her. "You okay?"

"Of course," Bella lied, almost believing that she was being truthful. "There's coffee if you want a cup."

"I've already had two." Emmett placed the bag on the porch and pushed it toward her with his foot. "Make sure Edward gets this, okay?"

Bella nodded and watched as Emmett headed toward the barn. He'd been guarded toward her, which she understood. After finding out that he, Rose, and Jasper had been placed to watch over her, she hadn't been too friendly toward him. She felt betrayed and humiliated, like Edward hadn't trusted her to take care of herself. Maybe he hadn't, but she was doing okay, wasn't she?

Blowing out a deep breath, she reached for the bag, only to realize she'd been digging her nails into the palm of her hand. Yeah, she was just fine.

Bella stood and picked up the bag, which was heavier than she expected, and carried it into the house. Edward was seated on the couch, his laptop propped up on his knees. She placed the bag on the floor next to him before curling onto the couch next to him. Edward laughed softly as he wrapped his arm around her, kissing the top of her head.

"How was the sunrise?" he asked, pulling the cup from her hands and taking a sip. "Ugh, this needs sugar."

"No, it doesn't," she argued and snatched her cup back. "And it was nice. It's almost always nice here."

Edward hummed and tilted his head toward the bag. "Emmett drop that off?"

"Yep." Bella leaned away from him, sitting on the edge of the couch. "What's in it?"

"Oh, um, Emmett tinkers with cameras and such. Thought I might update your security system before Jacob, Seth, and Leah get here."

"How much longer?"

"They should be here the day after tomorrow. Sam and Emily decided to stay behind."

Bella cocked and eyebrow as she looked back at him.

"It was harder than they expected, I think. They need a break," he explained

"Must be nice to get a vacation from hell," Bella muttered, mostly to herself, but she knew Edward heard her. He placed his hand on her back, but she shrugged it off and stood. "I'm going into town. I've got an order of lumber that I need to pick up, and we need more milk, so . . ."

"I'll come with you," Edward offered, closing his laptop.

"No, I . . ." Bella shook her head and took a step backward. "Stay here. I'll be quick."

Though she could tell Edward didn't want her going alone, he didn't argue with her. Bella rushed upstairs to her bedroom and grabbed her cell phone, keys, and wallet.

Aro and Alice were in the kitchen when she came back down. Alice was standing in front of the stove with a carton of eggs in one hand and a frying pan in the other.

Slowly, Bella walked up behind her, placing her hands on Alice's arms. The fragile girl tensed, but didn't pull away as Bella lifted her arm with the frying pan and placed it on the stove up.

"Remember those omelets I taught you how to make?"

Alice nodded.

"Edward likes mushrooms, cheese, and ham." Bella released her. "Lots of mushrooms."

"Okay," she whispered.

Bella smiled as she turned to Aro, who was leaning against the palm of his hand. His eyes were closed, but he had a grin on his lips. She walked over to him and placed her hand over his and kissed his forehead.

"I'll be back in a bit, okay?"

"Okay, sweetheart." Aro's eyes opened and he looked at her. "Be safe."

"I will." And she hoped like hell that she could be.

Edward had his laptop open again as she walked past him. Alice had taken quite the liking to him. Not the way she was with Jasper, of course, but she still liked him. Maybe it was the connection to Elizabeth. She wasn't sure, and she wasn't sure it was healthy, but right now, she had enough worried on her shoulders without worrying about Alice getting too close to Edward.

"I love you," Bella said, pausing before she opened the front door.

"I love you more."

Though she disagreed with him, knowing that nobody could love anyone more than she loved him, she left him sitting in the living room.

Her first stop was by Newton's Lumber Yard and Hardware store. Mike Newton had promised that her order would be in by now. Trying to keep calm, Bella climbed out of her truck, giving her surroundings a quick glance before she headed into the store. The smell of lumber, dust, and dirt filled her nose, nauseating her. She hated the smell.

"Anna!" Mike cheered, rushing out of his office. "Your order is in."

"Hmm, and they say miracles don't happen." Bella stepped up to the counter and opened her wallet. "How much do I owe you?"

"Came out to $3322."

Her eyes widen as she pulled out her credit card. "You quoted me $2900 when I placed my order."

"Well, yeah, but I had to expedite the backorder, and then there is tax."

"Hmm, seeing as I've had to wait almost two and a half months for my order, I should be getting a discount." Bella sighed and handed her card over to him. "But whatever. Just get it loaded into my truck."

"Right away," Mike stammered.

Once he'd completed her transaction, he rushed around the corner and out of the store. Bella followed and watched as he personally lugged her lumber into the back of her truck. She worried that the man would have a heart attack. He was sweating profusely and his face and neck were bright red.

After he had her ordered tied down, he attempted to wipe the sweat from his face with the back of his hand, but it didn't see like it helped.

"Need anything else?"

"I hope not." Bella opened the driver's side door and looked back at Mike. "Thanks."

"You're welcome, Anna. Sorry about all the hassle."

Bella waved him off and climbed inside. She stopped at the market and picked up a gallon of milk, some eggs, fresh produce, and before she realized it, she was parked outside of Jasper's Bakery.

He was just finishing up with a customer when she walked inside, their eyes meeting over a tray of jelly donuts. Jasper looked at the little old woman he was serving before addressing Bella.

"Morning, Anna."

"Morning," Bella whispered, drawing the attention of the woman at the counter.

Lois Cope—the mayors wife. She'd come out to the ranch not long after Bella, Aro, and Alice showed up, offered to show them around town. She was a harmless woman, just nosy.

"Mrs. Cope."

"Anna!" she gushed, rushing over to her and giving her a bumpy hug. She was a hefty woman. "We hardly see you in town anymore. Keeping busy on that ranch, are you?"

"Always work to be done," Bella lied.

"Mrs. Cope," Jasper drew her attention back to him, "you're ready to go, ma'am."

"Thank you, Jasper." Mrs. Coped walked back to the counter and picked up her box. "The mister will be mighty glad to see me tonight."

"Yes, ma'am, I'm sure he will." Jasper laughed.

Bella moved out of the doorway as to allow Mrs. Cope to leave. The moment the door was closed, she heard Jasper say, "Didn't think you'd come back in here."

"Wasn't sure I should," she said, turning her attention to him. "You used to be a baker."

"I'm still a baker," he argued. "Just have other skills, too."

"So I've heard. How long were you in the army?"

"Ten years," he said. "And before that, my daddy taught me how to hunt, how to track. You don't grow up in Texas without learning a skill or two, Bella. Or should I still call you Anna?"

"It doesn't matter," she murmured, waving her hand in the air. "Where'd you learn to bake?"

"Momma always said it was fine that I knew how to survive off the land, but the girls would love me more if I could bake them a cake, too. Turns out I enjoy it."

Bella shook her head and looked around. "I don't know why I'm here."

"You're angry," Jasper said, pulling out a tray of chocolate cupcakes with red sprinkles. He placed two in a small box and sealed it with a piece of tape. "Which is understandable, of course. But he wouldn't have sent us here if he hadn't been worried about you."

"Yeah, I know," she said, stiffly.

"Do you?" he asked, leaning on the counter. "I don't think you really understand what Edward went through while you were saving the world. He spent every second he could watching for your message, hoping that you were okay. Hell, I don't know how many times I had to keep him from rushing to Forks to save you."

"Of course I do," she argued. "It wasn't an easy decision to go undercover, Jasper. I thought I was going to die. The hell . . . the pain . . ." Bella blew out a deep breath. "Do you love Alice?"

Jasper's eyes widened, clearly surprised by the change of subject. "No. I like her. I don't know her well enough to love her. I think she's beautiful and she has an amazing sense of humor. But she's fragile and hurting and not ready for a relationship."

"Are you willing to wait for her?"

"You're asking difficult questions," he chuckled. "I don't know. Right now, I'm just trying to be her friend. Trying to keep her safe, to keep you safe, and when Leah gets here, I'll try to keep her safe."

At the mention of Leah's name, Bella stumbled back against the door. Turning, she grabbed the handle and yanked it open, her chest heaving as she struggled to keep from openly sobbing.

"I'm shouldn't have come here," she whimpered. "I'm sorry."

"Bella, wait," Jasper called, but she was out of the shop and heading toward her truck. She scrambled inside, forgoing her seatbelt as she jammed the key in the ignition and started her truck. As she shifted into reverse, Jasper came running out of his shop. A tear sprinkled down her face as she reversed and drove away. She couldn't even explain why she was upset.

—BR—

Bella found herself parked at the ocean. She climbed out of the truck and stumbled down to the shoreline. Sinking into the sand, she pulled her knees up to her chest, not caring that the waves were washing up over her.

Her heart was racing, her chest heaving as she struggled to catch her breath, and tears burned her eyes. Every time she thought she was going to be okay, life felt like it came up and smacked her in the ass.

Her mother's death, her father's betrayal, the hell she'd put herself into. She'd left everything she knew in Forks, became Annabelle Mason, not Bella Swan. Yet, she was still Bella, still the girl who was locked away with a monster.

She still felt him. Carlisle's hands on her body, his breath on her skin, the sting as he hit her, beat her, used her. She hated him, feared him, even in death. She'd never be normal, never be the Bella she was before the night her father gave her away.

"Alice said I might find you here."

At the sound of Edward's voice, Bella sighed and looked over her shoulder, finding him standing about ten feet behind her.

"Jasper called."

"Of course he did," she groused.

"He was worried."

"Everyone's so worried about me, aren't they?" Bella stood and turned to face him. "You, Rose, Jasper, Emmett, but nobody cares how I feel. How I really feel."

"I do," Edward insisted.

"No, you don't," she snarled. "Or you wouldn't be bringing her here!"

Edward sighed, placing his hands on his hips. "I've already explained why we need to bring Leah here."

Bella rolled her eyes, crossing her arms in front of her. "She's a danger to herself and others. Yeah, I know."

"What is this really about?" Edward asked, frowning. "You . . . you did all of that to get her out, and now, it's like you don't want her anymore."

"I . . . I told you," she stammered.

"But not the truth."

Bella shook her head, and turned back toward the water. "She'll blame me."

"What?" he asked, walking up behind her. He placed his hands on her hips, but Bella shook his touch off. "What is going on?"

"She'll blame me," Bella told him, tears filling her eyes as she looked at him. "For what my father did to her. He wouldn't have . . . bought her if . . . if I hadn't . . ."

"Maybe not," Edward admitted. "But Cullen had already broken her, Bella. He'd fucked with her mind, made her stay with him. He didn't have to hold her hostage the way he did you, did he?"

Bella shook her head.

Edward brought his hands up to her face, wiping away the tears she hadn't been able to keep from falling.

"Honey, everything you did, everything you went through, you did because Leah's your family, because Jake and Seth, and Sam and Emily, are your family. Because Aro needed to find Alice, because . . . because of Elizabeth. It wasn't fair that you went through all of that. I wish I could go back and keep you from walking into that motherfucker's house. But I can't."

"I'm scared, Edward," she cried, barely speaking above a whisper. "I'm scared all the time and I have this feeling that everything we know is about to explode in our face."

"I won't let that happen," he insisted, nestling her against him. "I'll take care of you, Bella. For the rest of our lives, I will take care of you."

"Promise," she whimpered.

"On my life."

"I just hope that's not the price you'll pay."

But whether Edward heard her, Bella couldn't be sure.

11


	7. Chapter 7

A Zoe Mack Novel by Lisa Bilbrey

7

"No . . . No . . . Stop . . . You're hurting me!"

An arm flew out and smacked Edward in the face, pulling him out of the almost-peaceful slumber he'd drifted off to. Groaning, he rolled onto his side, his eyes widening in fright when as he watched Bella, his beautiful, sweet, Bella, writhing in horror. Her face was twisted in pain, her hands clenched into tight fits, and her body stiff and ridged.

Bella's upper body arched off the bed as she screamed, tears somehow seeping from her closed eyes. Edward knew she'd been through hell. She might not have sent him the files that Carlisle Cullen made of her, but the ones she did send, the ones that contained the other girls he'd destroyed, told him enough.

Bella had been in Hell.

"Baby, wake up," Edward said, softly trying to grip her wrists to keep her from hurting herself. But the minute his fingers wrapped around her, though, she screamed again, fighting him. Her legs came up off the bed, hitting him in the back of the head. He fell forward and hit his head on the headboard of their bed.

Bella unclenched her hands, her nails digging into his forearm.

"Fuck," Edward snarled, yanking his arms away.

Bella leapt from the bed, falling into the floor. She crawled into the corner of the room, her knees pulled flush to her chest, her arms tucked between them and her body. He saw her trembling and heard soft whimpers.

Taking a deep, calming breath, Edward climbed off the bed and dropped to his knees, slowly moving so that he was in front of her.

"Bella, baby, it's me. It's Edward."

Her head lifted from on top of her knees. Her eyes, which were once filled with love and innocence, were now full of fear and anger.

"You're okay."

Bella shook her head, her eyes darting around the room like she was searching for someone. Her body was so tight, so stiff, that he worried about her being hurt.

"Bella, look at me," Edward said, causing her to shift her attention back to him. "You're okay."

"He's . . . He's not here?"

"No, honey, he's not here. Just me and you."

Bella nodded, but her body didn't relax. Edward reached for her hand, but she pulled away. It hurt that she was scared of him, but he tried not to show it. It was selfish of him to expect her to allow his touch, even as innocently as holding her hand.

"I . . . I need you to move," Bella murmured. "Please."

"Okay." Edward scooted away from her, giving her plenty of space.

Bella used her upper body to push herself up the wall, her eyes still flittering around the room. "I'm, um, I'm just going to . . ."

But she didn't finish her statement before she bolted from the room, leaving him crouched down on the floor. He should have never allowed her to go undercover, even if Alice's life, Leah's life, and the hope of finding his sister depended on it. Edward had failed her as a husband.

—BR—

Edward found her in the living room. She was standing in front of the bay window, one hand wrapped around a coffee mug, while the other was wrapped around her torso. On the outside, she came off as in control, as together, but she was falling apart on the inside.

"Hey, need a refill?" he asked, drawing her attention from the window to him.

She smiled, though it was forced and fake. "No, I'm still good."

He nodded and walked into the kitchen. He poured himself a cup and joined her in the living room. Though he opened his laptop, he wasn't paying any attention to it. He was watching Bella from the corner of his eyes, waiting to see what she did next.

The last year and a half had been unbearable. Bella had been his life and forcing himself to stay away from her nearly did him in. That's why as soon as the FBI closed the case on her, he packed up his shit and left. He needed her.

"It's going to be cold today, I think." Bella said, placing her hand on the window.

"Yeah, weather forecast was saying it would barely get out of the fifties."

Bella nodded and looked over at him. "Find anything yet?"

"Um, no," he lied. Well, not really lying, just not admitting that he hadn't been searching for any sign of his sister or the man Alice called Sandman yet.

"Want me to help?" she asked, coyly. "You know I'm pretty good with that hacking stuff."

"I might have heard something about that," Edward teased and placed his laptop on the coffee table. He reached for her. "Come here."

Bella bit her lip and looked back out the window before joining him on the couch. She sat with her body angled toward him, but her shoulders were tense.

"You want to tell me about what happened?"

Bella sighed. "Not really."

"I can help."

"No, you can't."

Edward tried not to let the hurt show, but the fact that she didn't want, or need, his help crushed him.

"I just . . . I don't want you to know everything he did," she whispered.

"Okay." Edward wasn't going to push for more, knowing it would just push her away even more. "I love you, though. Don't forget that."

"I won't." And though she smiled once again, it didn't come off as real. Bella stood and moved back to the window, so Edward turned his attention back to his laptop, to finding his sister, to stopping this Sandman, and maybe trying to salvage some sort of normal. Whatever that was.

—BR—

Three hours later, Bella was in the kitchen making breakfast for him, Alice, and Aro. He'd offered, but she refused, saying that she enjoyed pampering him. Edward suspected that Bella tried to keep busy. Made it easier for her not to think about everything she'd been through.

Like he normally was, Edward was seated at the kitchen table with his laptop. Aro was across from him, looking older and more tired than ever. Edward worried about the old man, about his ability to help Alice. She, like Bella, was barely hanging on.

Alice was in the chair next to her grandfather, her knees perched in front of her. It was an improvement, Edward thought. She normally hung around the stairs rather than at the table if he was in the room. The fact that she was at the table with him spoke volumes about her trust in him.

"We're almost out of bacon," Bella said, shifting her eyes to mine. "I should run into town."

"What me to come with you?" Edward offered.

Biting her lip, she shook her head and once again, he tried to hide his irritation. "I won't be long."

"Okay," he said.

Ten minutes later, she was gone, Aro and Alice had eaten and ventured out to the barn to check on the horses, and Edward found himself sitting on the front porch. He worried about Bella. She was pulling away from him.

Maybe he should have told her about Emmett, Rose, and Jasper, but he honestly believed she needed someone to watch over her. Aro was an old man, he couldn't handle both of them. Emmett had kept him abreast of the situation, of how Alice refused to eat, to sleep. How paranoid Bella had become of everyone. The Bella Edward fell in love with wasn't afraid of anyone, even a sadist son-of-a-bitch like Carlisle Cullen, but then again, his Bella hadn't been in the hands of the Devil yet.

Edward's attention was pulled toward the road leading to the house. Rose parked her black Yukon next to his mustang and slid out of the driver's seat.

"Hey," Edward called. "Emmett's in the barn with Alice and Aro."

"I was looking for you, actually." Rose walked up the porch and sat in the chair next to him, placing a dark folder on her lap. "I've been doing some research into this 'Sandman' person. Might have gotten a hit."

"You found him?" Edward asked, sliding to the edge of his seat.

"No, not quite." Rose opened the file, picking up a picture of a dead woman. It was clear based on the picture that she'd been beaten severely before she died. "Her name was Maegan. She disappeared when she was thirteen. Parents filed a missing persons, but the police say she was always taking off. Her body was found in a field in South Illinois two years later."

Rose placed that one face down on the table between them and pictured up another. "This is Ashley. She was fifteen when she disappeared on her way to a friend's house. Her remains were found in a field in Idaho a year after she disappeared. The police suspected her friend's father had raped her and killed her and hidden her body, but he had an alibi."

Once more, she picked up another photo. "Gabby Steele. She had just turned eleven when her mother dropped her off at the movies. When she came to pick her up, her daughter was nowhere to be found. Surveillance tapes show her leaving just minutes after her mother dropped her off with a male, but they couldn't get a good look at his face. She wasn't found for three years."

"All of these girls are connected to Sandman?" Edward asked, the words tasting like acid.

Rose nodded. "I've linked him to at least two dozen more and I'm still searching. From what I've been able to piece together, and there's not a lot, whoever this Sandman person is has quite the reach. There are girls from Washington to Florida that fit his M.O."

Rose pulled a photo from the bottom of the pile and held it out to him. Unlike the others, the girl in this picture wasn't dead. She had a beautiful smile, bright eyes, and caring features.

"Her name is Kate. She's seventeen. Two weeks ago, her mother reported her missing, said that she'd gone camping with friends, but they later admitted that had been a lie. She'd met a man online and wanted to meet him in person, but knew her mother would never allow it, so she lied. When she didn't show up at their appointed meeting time, they got scared and called her mom. The police found files on her computer from a man who called himself Cyrus Becker. They also found nude pictures of herself that she had sent to Cyrus."

"So, you think this Cyrus Becker is Sandman?"

Rose nodded. "I don't think Cyrus is his real name, obviously, but whoever is on the other side of this account is the man we're looking for."

Edward blew out a heavy breath as he looked down at the picture of Kate. Had she become another victim of opportunity?

"So, what's your plan?" Edward asked.

"You tell me, boss."

Sighing, Edward shifted his attention from the picture to Rose. "I really need you here. With Leah coming and everything, we need all the help we can get."

"Then send Ang, Ben, and Tyler out. They can meet up with Garrett. I can stay here until we know more." Rose paused. "Look, I know you've got your hands full with Bella, and she absolutely has to be your number one priority, but just because she took out a huge wing of the network, doesn't mean our job is done. There are too many girls out there that need our help."

"Yeah, you're right."

But before he could say anything else, Edward felt his chest tighten as Jasper sped up the driveway with Bella right behind him in her truck. They leapt out and while Bella ran straight into the house, Jasper stopped at the bottom of the steps.

"Ben texted and said, they were ten minutes from town." he said, bringing his hand up to the back of his neck. "I saw Bella across the street the drug store, and thought it'd be better if she got home first. She's freaking out, man."

"Get Emmett. He's in the barn. Tell Aro to bring Alice into the house," Edward ordered, before pushing past Rose and heading into the house.

He found Bella inside their bedroom, pacing back and forth in front of the dresser. The sound of the door closing behind him startled her and she spun and stared at him.

"It's going to be okay."

"No, no, no, no, it is not!" she screeched. "Don't let them come. Please, tell them to turn around. I'll give them every cent I have, but they can't be here."

"Shh, honey." Edward wrapped his arms around her, nestling her as close to him as he could. "I give you my word that everything will be okay. I will not let anyone hurt you again."

"I . . ."

But Bella's words died out in her throat as the sound of a car pulling up drew their attention to the window. They watched as Ben and Angela climbed out first, followed by Jacob and Seth, whose arm was heavily bandaged, and finally Leah.

God help Edward if this was a mistake.

10


	8. Chapter 8

8

Edward stepped away from Bella, his fingers wrapping tightly around hers as he gestured for the door, but she pulled away. She just wasn't ready to see Leah again. The guilt she felt for what her . . . what the man who had once been her father had done to her was a burden that weighed heavily on her shoulders. Facing her was too much to ask.

"I'm sorry," she whimpered. "I can't."

Though she could tell that Edward wanted her to go downstairs and greet their new guest, he didn't say anything as he turned and rushed out of the room. It hurt Bella more than she wanted to admit to watch him choose them over her, their needs over hers. She loved him, but she was starting to wonder if his feelings for her were real. He was her husband, yet he continued to put others before her.

Hiding behind the curtains, Bella watched as he walked out of the house and greeted the people who had accompanied Seth, Leah, and Jake. There were two males. The first was tall and lanky. He looked like he'd grown too faster than his body could handle. He had long dark, brown hair that he had pulled back into a ponytail that only a few men could really pull off. Bella was too far to see what color eyes he had, but his body language told her that he was cautious, suspicious of their surroundings.

The other man, this one a good foot shorter than his friend, had short, black hair and wore a pair of black framed glasses. He was broad in the shoulders, and stood protectively in front of Leah, which warmed Bella's heart a bit. But just a bit. Next to Leah, stood a woman with long, thick, black hair. She was around the same height as Bella, but she was much thinner. She, too, was wearing a pair of glasses, but they weren't as awkward on her as they were on the man. They seemed to fit her style.

Edward said something to the six of them that had their eyes shifting from him up to the window were Bella was peeking and she quickly moved so not to be seen. It was ridiculous, she told herself. Edward would never put herself in a dangerous situation. But then, he had allowed her to put herself in the hands of the devil.

"That wasn't his fault, stupid," she muttered to herself as she slid to the floor, curling herself into the corner of her bedroom. "You were the idiot who thought you could save everyone. You deserve everything that happened to you."

And she did. He'd begged her not to go, begged her to find a different way, to let him help, but she was stubborn. What had being stubborn gotten her?

"Nothing but memories I can't get rid of and a life not worth living."

—BR—

Bella stayed locked in her room for the rest of the night. Edward came in just after ten, but didn't say anything about Leah, Seth, or Jake. He didn't say much of anything to her, which hurt more than she realized it would. His disappointment in her cut deep and she knew he expected her to be stronger than she was.

She slipped out of bed just after six in the morning, leaving Edward asleep. He was laying on his back, his arm draped over his eyes, while his other arm was hanging off the side of the bed. She'd pretended to fall asleep the second they got into bed, but in reality, she'd stayed up all night. She couldn't risk sleep, not after what had happened the day before. She'd done so good to keep that part of herself locked up, not to let her nightmares get out of control. But he'd heard them.

Bella dressed in a pair of jeans and a T-shirt, adding a pair of running shoes before slipping from her bedroom and creeping downstairs. The house was dark, only a small nightlight in the living room and the glow from the clock that blinked from the front of the DVD player. She'd just reached the front door, when the sound of someone clearing their throat startled her and she choked back her scream as she spun around to find Jasper stretched out on the couch. He reached up and flicked on the lap.

"Going somewhere?"

"Not really," she lied. "Thought I'd sit on the porch for a bit."

"Oh, yeah? I'll go with you." Jasper began sitting up, but stopped when Bella hissed for him to stop. "You were leaving."

"Just for a few hours." She lied again. She wasn't sure how long she planned to stay away. She just knew she couldn't be inside that house when everyone woke up.

Jasper shook his head, kicking his legs to the side as he sat on the edge of the couch. Somehow, it amused her that he was sleeping on the couch filly dressed, shoes included. "Darlin, you can't just go trudging all over the place without letting him know where you're at."

"I can do whatever I want," she said, trying to sound stronger than she was, but when the light over the stairs came on, Bella began to panic. "I'm sorry."

She turned and threw open the door, rushing out of the house and out to her truck, but before she could shove the key into the ignition, the passenger door opened and Jasper climbed in.

"Get out!" she ordered.

"Not gonna happen. Wherever you're going, I'm going to."

Huffing, Bella glared at him, but started her truck and shifted in reverse, backing out. "Fine, whatever."

Jasper didn't utter another sound as she pulled away from the house, as she drove down the driveway, or when she pulled onto the highway. In fact, he didn't say anything as she drove into town and pulled up in front of his bakery.

"What are we doing here?"

Bella shrugged her shoulders. "Couldn't think of anywhere else to go. Figured you'd need to come in and open the place, so here we are."

Jasper smiled. "It's the weekend. I'm closed."

"Oh."

"But we can go inside if you want," he said. "I'll teach you make a tart or scone, or something."

"What if I don't want to learn how to bake those things?"

"Then, we can sit awkwardly in here until you go somewhere else, or tell me why you're running away all the time."

"I'm not running away!"

"Darlin, nobody needs to come into town every other day for milk and pastries."

Bella pressed her lips together before pushing her door open. "Scones it is!"

Jasper laughed as he led her into his shop, locking the door behind her. She wasn't sure why that little act didn't scare her. She didn't know Jasper, yet she wasn't afraid of him taking advantage of her. He could. She was alone and at his mercy. He could throw her on the floor, hit her, kick her, and call her his whore. He could fuck her anyway he wanted and make her his slut, but she wasn't afraid of him. That alone scared her. Why wasn't she more afraid of him?

Jasper led her into the kitchen. "There's an apron on the hook behind the door. Scones can be messy."

"You're really going to teach me how to make scones?"

He pulled out a large cookie sheet and placed it on the counter. "Unless you want to cut the bullshit and tell me what's going on inside that head of yours."

"Why do you care?" she asked, grabbing one of the aprons and slinging it over her head. She began to tie it around her waist.

Jasper didn't answer her as he covered the cookie sheet in parchment and set it aside. He grabbed a large mixing bowl, flour, baking powder, milk, eggs, yogurt, walnuts, cranberries, salt, sugar, and butter onto the counter.

"Come here," he said, and she did as he told her. "Watch me and then you can do the next batch."

"Okay."

Jasper started measuring out the ingredients. Two cups of flour, two and a half teaspoons of baking powder, half a teaspoon of salt, and so on. Once he had everything mixed according to his recipe, he placed the dough on top of a floored cutting board and began to knead it over and over.

"Did Edward tell you much about my time in the army?"

"Said you don't like talking about it."

"No, I don't," he admitted, pressing the dough with his knuckles. "My family didn't have much money, which gave me few options when I graduated from high school. The army seemed like a good fit. They were about order and respect, about rules and strength. I did well and advanced quickly. I joined special ops because I was good at it. My daddy had taught me about hunting and tracking, about being aware of my surroundings. I was a Goddamn eagle scout, for fuck sake."

"Can't picture you in Boy Scouts," she admitted while he spread the dough flat into a circle and began cutting it into wedges with a knife.

Jasper snorted. "Well, I was. I found myself while in the army, somewhere I belonged."

"Until?" Bella asked. "Seeing as you're not a general, something had to have happened."

A frown tugged at his lips as he began lining his cookie sheet with wedges. "I can't tell you most of the details, but my team and I were ordered to invade a compound believed to be the headquarters for one of the biggest terrorist cells in the Middle East. When we got inside, we found dozens of young girls who had been sold, stolen, lured into sex slavery. Most of these girls weren't even old enough to know what sex was, Bella. They were babies. We managed to take out our target, but when we tried to offer refuge to the girls, we were told they weren't our problems. That we had no business worrying about what happened to them. I put in a request to end my service the next week. Finished my tour, came home, started the next part of my life. But those girls haunted me. I hated myself for leaving them behind. Still do, actually."

"It's not your fault," Bella said. "You had to do what you had to do, right?"

Jasper nodded as he placed a clean mixing bowl in front of Bella. "You're turn."

"You really want me to make scones?"

"Yep," he said.

She sighed. "Fine, but when they taste like shit, don't get mad at me."

"I'm sure they'll be delicious."

Bella knew better, however, she started mixing the ingredients like he had shown her. "How'd you meet Edward?"

"That is a very boring story," he chuckled and leaned against the counter as she added the salt into the mix.

"Good thing I like boring stories, huh?"

"I used to date his sister."

"You and Elizabeth?"

Jasper nodded. "A long time ago. When I came back from the army, he hit me up for a drink, explained about Eclipse, and asked if I wanted to be a part of it. I didn't even hesitate when I said yes."

"Because of Elizabeth?"

"No. Well, not just because of her. It was more of a combination of her and all the girls I couldn't save."

"Were you in love with Elizabeth?" Bella asked.

"No. We were too young to know what love was. Hell, we were only fifteen, but she was my best friend for a long time. We lost touch when I went into the service and she went to college. It was almost a year before I heard she'd gone missing, but I knew she hadn't just run off. She wouldn't have done that to Edward."

"So, now you're here to help him find her?"

"Her and whoever else needs to be found." He turned and faced the counter. "You ready to knead that dough?"

Bella looked down at the gooey mix in front of her. "Guess so."

Jasper sprinkled some floor on the cutting board. "There you go."

Bella dumped the dough in the middle and began pushing down on it. It didn't give much leeway, though. Not like it had for Jasper. Feeling frustrated, she huffed and stepped backward, pushing it toward him.

"You do it."

"No, darlin, this one's yours." He pushed it back toward her. "Don't use your hands. Use your whole arm. Really beat the shit out of that dough."

Bella tried again and again and again, but still found herself barely able to push or pull the dough the way it needed to be. "Why is this so hard?"

"Because you're scared," he said, reaching out and placing his hand on her arm. She tensed from the contact and pulled her arm away. "And it's okay to be scared and angry. Hell, I'd be pissed off if I'd been through half of what you have. Or Alice, or Leah."

At the mention of Leah's name, Bella took several steps backward, wiping her hands on the front of her apron. "I don't want to talk about her."

"Edward wouldn't have brought her to you if he wasn't sure you'd be safe."

"Stop saying that!" Bella screamed. "I don't care if it's safe. I don't care if it's for her own good. Why do I have to give up the one place I feel safe for her?"

"Is that why you're angry?" Jasper asked. "You think he's put her needs before yours."

"Hasn't he?" Bella asked. "I told him I didn't want her here, yet he insisted that they come. This place . . . Jasper, this is my home. Mine and if I don't feel safe here anymore, what am I supposed to do?"

"You need to tell him," Jasper said, "and you can't do that by running away."

"You don't understand," she whimpered, inwardly kicking her ass for letting her emotions show.

"You're right, I don't, and I won't pretend to, either." Jasper gestured toward the dough. "Finish your scones."

Bella shook her head, but walked back up to the counter. She kneaded the dough the best she could before rolling to flat and cutting out the wedges just like he had done. The entire time, she wondered what it must be like to not have a care in the world, because right now, she was cracking around the edges and it terrified her what would happen when she broke for good. Maybe Carlisle Cullen was right: everyone had a breaking point, even her.


	9. Chapter 9

9

Bella and Jasper stayed at his shop for the rest of the day. Bella made two more cookie sheets of scones before he taught her how to make donuts, cupcakes, and let her ice her very first cake. It was a disaster that now sat in the backseat of her truck because it was too deformed to sell. Now they were on their way back out to the ranch and Bella could feel herself trembling.

Edward had called three times, even after Jasper assured him that she was fine, that she needed to collect herself before coming back. Bella hated that Edward hadn't rushed to her side the minute he realized she was gone. Instead, he was still at the ranch, still with them. Guess he didn't realize how much she needed him.

"You okay, Bella?" Jasper asked and when she looked over at him, she saw him clutching the door handle like his life depended on it. It was then that she realized she'd been driving almost ninety.

"Sorry," she murmured and slowed down.

"It's all good. Just saw my life flashing before my eyes. Kind of pathetic, to be honest."

Bella tried to smile, but her nerves were getting the best of her and she knew it came off as more of a grimace than a smile. Jasper didn't call her on it, either. She knew he would just reassure her that everything was going to be okay, that Edward knew what he was doing. Well, she wasn't as sure and she was tired of being told how awesome everything was going to be.

As she pulled up in front of the house, she shifted into park, but didn't turn off the engine. Emmett's truck was still in its usual spot, as was Rose's Yukon. Her heart was racing and her hands trembling. She fought the urge to cry, to scream, to lash out at Jasper. She didn't want to hurt him, but the urge to take her anger out on someone was strong and he was there. That scared her most of all.

"Come on, darlin. Can't keep putting this off."

"Why not?" she asked, shifting her attention from the front of the house to him. In that moment, she could picture herself leaping across the seat with a knife in her hands and plunging it into his chest. Swallowing hard, she turned from him, trying to get the image out of her head.

"Because you're a good person and if you run now, you'll never forgive yourself."

Bella released a sardonic laugh. "Forgive myself? Who said I wanted forgiveness in the first place?"

But before Jasper could offer her more words of wisdom, she cut the engine and climbed out of the truck. He followed her up the front steps, to the front door, but when she reached for the handle to open the door, it was yanked open from the inside. Bella tensed as she found herself face to face with Leah.

If Jasper hadn't been standing right behind her, she would have turned and ran, but she couldn't. She was trapped. Her hands curled up into fists and she fought the urge to fight her way to freedom, which was silly. She wasn't being held against her will. She was already free — wasn't she?

"Hey," Leah said, smiling.

The past year hadn't changed her much. Her hair was shorter than she'd normally wore it and she hadn't gained back the thirty pounds she'd lost during her time under Carlisle Cullen's cruel thumb. Bella swallowed against the lump in her throat and tried to greet her old friend, but the words wouldn't leave her mouth. Tears filled her eyes and she felt frustrated and weak.

"Leah, honey, let her into the house," Jake came up behind her, his arm sliding along her waist, but Leah shrugged it off and moved out of the way. Bella saw the hurt in his eyes, but found herself unsympathetic. Did he think she'd still love him after being treated like a whore? "Hey, B."

Bella slipped into the house, her eyes shifting from him to Leah to Seth, who was seated on the couch with his arm braced on his chest. The three people who had brought Leah to her home were seated on the coach next to Seth. Emmett and Rose were seated in front of the fireplace while Alice and Aro were nowhere to be seen. Edward stood in front of the picture window. Clearly he'd been watching her and Jasper in the truck. He didn't trust her to be alone. He'd had people spying on her for a year, after all.

"Bella," Edward said, drawing her attention to him. "Honey, are you okay?"

"I . . . I'm fine," she whispered, unsure who all could hear her. "I'm . . . I'm . . ."

But what she was, she never stated. Instead, she shuffled through the living room, dining room, and into the kitchen, where she found Aro and Alice. He had his young, fragile granddaughter in his arms. Her knees were pulled to her chest and Bella could see the cracks in the carefully built armor she kept around herself.

"Oh, hey," she murmured, biting the inside of her lip.

"Hello, sweetheart," Aro said, trying to give her a pleasant grin, but he was tired and looked it. "Did you have a nice day with Jasper?"

Bella nodded, shifting her attention to Alice. "We made a cake. For . . . for you."

"You did?" Alice asked, her eyes widening. "Where is it?"

"Oh, um, I left it in my truck." Bella turned back to the doorway of the kitchen, wondering if she had the courage to walk back through the lion's den or not.

"I'll go, sweetheart." Aro stood and left the room without another word.

Bella walked over to the table and sat across from Alice, who watched her every move. "What'd you do today?"

"I, um . . ." Alice paused. "I was going to go to the barn, but . . . She was in there, so I came back into the house, but they were in here, so I . . . I just . . . did nothing."

"They scare you, too, don't they?"

Her eyes widened as she nodded. "Mistress liked her. Said she was a good slut. I wasn't a good slut. I made her angry all the time. That's why she had to punish me."

Alice rarely talked about her experiences with Esme Platt, or her time inside the dungeon, and Bella never asked. There were parts of her life that she didn't want to talk about, either. Luckily, before Alice or Bella could say anything else, Aro strolled into the kitchen with Jasper and Edward following him. Aro was carrying the cake that Bella had frosted. While Jasper moved so that he was seated next to Alice, whose smile lit up the room, Edward stayed next to the door, almost like he was trying to keep her from being able to escape.

"What kind is it?" Alice asked, tilting her head toward the cake.

"Chocolate of course," Jasper scoffed, placing his hands in the table. "It's your favorite, isn't it?"

Alice nodded.

Aro cut her a big piece of cake and placed it on the table in front of her, but instead of giving Bella a slice, he pulled a plate from the microwave and peeled the foil off. "You can have dessert after you've had your dinner, sweetheart."

Bella laughed softly and accepted the plate of meatloaf, macaroni and cheese, green beans, and garlic toast. "Thank you."

"You're welcome." Aro winked at her before helping himself to a small slice of cake and taking his seat next to Alice again, who was taking her time with her dessert. "Is it good, dolce nipote?"

Alice nodded, licking the chocolate frosting off her lips. "Delicious."

Bella spared a glance at Edward, who was staring intensely at her. It both thrilled her and made her fearful. Had she lost his respect? Had her inability to accept Leah's arrival cost her the man she loved? She wanted desperately to believe otherwise, but she didn't. Edward no longer wanted her as his wife — that much had become painfully clear.

Pushing her half-eaten food away, Bella stood and said, "I'm sorry," before rushing upstairs to her bedroom. She tried to close the door behind her, but when she didn't hear it close, she turned and found Edward following her. "I'm sorry."

"Don't," he said, stepping into the room and closing the door. "Don't be sorry."

"I am, though. I'm sorry I'm not strong enough for you, that I'm making you mad by not wanting them here. I'm . . . I'm just sorry."

Edward walked across the room so that he stood in front of Bella. Slowly, so as not to startle her, he brought his hands up to her face, placing one on each side. "Don't be sorry. Especially when you've done nothing wrong."

"But —"

"I'm the one who is sorry, Bella. Me."

"Why are you sorry?" she asked, quietly.

"Because I didn't listen when you said no. I forced Leah upon you, I made you feel unsafe in your home, and for that I am truly, honestly sorry."

"Yeah?" she asked, her eyes filling with tears.

Edward nodded, tiling his head just slightly to the left. "I thought I was doing what was best for everyone. Keep Leah close so she doesn't implicate you in the death of your father, maybe try to help her deal with everything, but maybe it's too late. Maybe . . . maybe we have to let Leah go."

"You'd do that?" Bella asked.

Edward nodded. "To be honest, I don't want to. She's dangerous and if we let her go and she hurts someone, I'll never forgive myself. But I can't lose you, Bella, and if keeping her here causes you to leave me, then . . . Well, they can leave tonight. We'll give them enough money to get settled, but then we'll be done with them."

Bella blew out a deep breath and took a step backward, needing to put some space between them. "Leah was my best friend, Edward. She . . . she taught me about boys and make-up and when I got my first period, she bought me tampons, for fuck sake. She was older than me, but never looked down on me, never treated me like a dumb kid. When she and Jake got engaged, I was so happy for them because they're the real thing, you know?"

"I do," he said, quietly and sitting on the edge of the bed.

"And then one day she changed. She pushed everyone away, told us to fuck off, said she didn't love us anymore. I watched as her rejection brought Jake's heart, as Seth and Sam and Emily and everyone else who loved her crumbled in pain, but I knew there was something wrong, something going on with her. I . . . I should have helped her sooner, I . . . Fuck, I don't know, I should have stopped Cullen from selling her to my . . . to _him_, from letting _him_ turn her into his version of me," Bella cried. "She was my best friend and _he_ raped her. How am I supposed to look her in the eyes after that?"

"I don't know," he said.

"She'll never forgive me," Bella wept, wrapping her arms around her torso. "Never."

"Then I'll send her away." Edward stood and stretched his hand toward her. "But you need to sit down and talk to her before I do."

"Why?" Bella asked.

"Because you'll never forgive yourself for turning your back on her now if you don't."

"Why do I always have to be the one to save everyone?" Bella groused. "Nobody's saving me!"

Edward dropped his hand to his side, his eyes widening. "I kind of thought I was."

"Then why were you here with them today instead of with me?"

"Because Jasper assured me that he had you."

"But he's not the one who is supposed to be in love with me," Bella wailed. "He's not my husband! You promised to always love me, Edward. In good times and in bad."

"And I do, but I can't come running every time you have a meltdown," he said, almost seeming to regret his choice of words immediately. "Shit, that's not what I meant."

"Sure you didn't," Bella muttered. "Just go back downstairs. I'm sure _she_ needs you to make everything all better."

"Bella," Edward started, taking a step toward her, but stopped when Bella swung at him. "Jesus fuck, Bella!"

"LEAVE!" she screamed. "GET OUT OF HERE!"

Though Edward looked like he might argue with her, he turned and walked out of the room. Bella crumbled to the floor, bringing her knees to her chest. Her hands were still clenched into tight fists and her heart was racing. What had she done?


	10. Chapter 10

10

Edward never returned to their room, though Bella wasn't surprised. She was in the middle of one of her 'meltdowns', as he put it. He was done with her, done with shit. She had failed him when she didn't find Elizabeth, ruining her for him in the process. Going under cover to stop Carlisle Cullen had been a mistake; Bella realized that now.

After sitting in the corner of her bedroom all night, Bella needed to escape the confines of her bedroom. She stripped off her clothes from the day before and pulled on a pair of ratty jeans and one of Edward's tees. She needed to be close to him, even if he didn't want anything to do with her anymore. Being quiet, she slipped out of her room and tiptoed downstairs. Just after six in the morning, the sun hadn't even peeked over the horizon yet.

Bella found Edward asleep on the couch in the living room. He had one arm over his eyes and his mouth was open as he snored. The white tee shirt he was wearing had shifted upward, showing just a sliver of skin. He'd removed his belt and shoes, leaving them on the floor next to him. It was a sign that he wasn't relaxed, that he was ready to rush off to the next emergency.

Bella wanted to crawl on top of him, to beg him to hold her, to forgive her for not being the wife he deserved. But she didn't. Instead, she left him asleep and walked out of the house, shivering as the early morning air wrapped around her.

She wanted to run again. To leave and not come back. That's not true. She wanted Leah, Jake, and Seth to leave and not come back. She wanted Edward to love her again, to hold her, to make everything okay, but that wasn't going to happen and she knew leaving wasn't an option. Instead, she headed for the barn, but when she walked inside, she found Leah standing in front of Daisy.

The woman who had once been her best friend turned and looked at her, her eyes widening and her lips curving upward into a smile. "Bella."

"Hey," Bella said, breathlessly. "What . . . What are you doing in here?"

"Couldn't sleep. It's too quiet out here. Got used to cars driving by, and the sound of the city. We were just outside of Houston, in case you were wondering. Probably weren't, though. You stopped caring about me."

"That's not true."

Leah gave Bella a doubtful look. "The big guy, Ernie or something, said you have horses, so I thought I'd come see them."

"Emmett. His name is Emmett. Where's Jake?"

"Asleep, I guess," she said, shrugging her shoulders. "Isn't that where everyone is right now? All snug in their beds, peaceful and content. But not me, and not you."

Bella hummed and turned to leave, but stopped when she heard Leah moving behind her. She turned back, shocked to find Leah with bottle of what looked like whiskey in her hands. Bella didn't have any alcohol in her house. After watching what it did to her father, she refused to touch the stuff.

"Where'd you get that?" Bella asked, tilting her head toward the liquor.

"I stole it from a shitty convenience store in Kentucky, or Tennessee. I don't really know, or care," she giggled, taking another swig before offering it to Bella. "What some? I'll share with my BFF."

"No, thank you."

"More for me, I guess." Leah took another hearty swig before shuddering and laughing. "Shit, this stuff burns like a motherfucker, but damn, it tastes good."

Bella just stood there, unsure of how to respond. Liquor never helped. Only made situations worse, turned people into assholes who sold their daughters to monsters to be used as sex slaves and then turned their attention on said daughter's best friend, ruining any chance of a friendship. Or Bella might be projecting her own experiences.

"I've missed you, Bella," Leah said, flopping down on top of a wooden crate. "Did you miss me?"

"Yes," she lied.

"Do you miss Daddy?" Leah asked, and Bella felt her shoulders tense. "He loves his little Bella, doesn't he? Loves to touch her, loves to kiss her, loves to _fuck_ her. Daddy was a mean lover, made sure his little Bella knew where she belonged."

Bella's heart was racing as she and Leah stood opposite of each other. The Leah she knew would never try to hurt her like this, but then again, the Bella she'd known growing up would never have killed a man, either.

Leah's smiled widened, almost like she could see inside Bella's soul, but before she could say anything more, they heard Jake yell, "Leah!"

"She's in here," Bella screamed, her hands curling into fists as she moved from inside the doorway. Moments later, he and Edward burst into the barn, their eyes traveling from Bella to Leah, who was still just sitting there.

"Leah, honey, what are you doing out here?" Jake asked, slowly walking toward her with his hands out in front of him. "Why don't you give me the bottle, and we can go back to the house, have something to eat?"

For a moment, Bella worried that Leah was going to refuse him, that she would throw the bottle at him, or smash it against the wood beams and use the glass shards to cut Jake, but she sighed and held the bottle out to him. Jake took it and held it behind him toward Edward, who took it immediately. Jake wrapped Leah in his arms and shuffled her toward the doorway of the barn.

"Sorry, B," he said, quietly, but it was the way Leah watched her that kept Bella from being able to reply. There was a darkness in her eyes that scared her. Maybe she hadn't saved Leah from Hell after all.

Edward waited until the two of them had left the barn before he poured the rest of the whiskey out, tossing the bottle into the trash can. He then shifted his attention to Bella. "Did she hurt you?"

Bella shook her head, knowing that she was lying. Leah's words had hurt, but it was nothing less than she deserved.

"What are you doing out here so early?"

"I . . . I don't know," she murmured, wrapping her arms around her torso.

"You don't know why you're in the barn at six in the morning?"

Once again, she shook her head.

"Jesus Christ, Bella, will you talk to me?"

"What do you want me to say?" she asked. "I couldn't be inside that room anymore, and I can't stay inside my own house, not with her in there. If I leave the ranch, you're just going to send Jasper after me. I . . . I just don't know what to do."

"Just talk to me," he begged, reaching for her, but she pulled away. "Why won't you let me be here for you?"

"Because you aren't here for me," she said. "You're here for Leah and Alice and Jake and Seth, and everyone else inside that house that needs you, but not me."

"I am, or I'm trying to be, but you keep pushing me away."

"It's easier to push you away than begging you to . . ." Clamping her lips together, she felt nails digging into the palms of her hands.

"Begging me to what?" Edward put his hands in the air as he took a step toward her. "Beg me to do what, Bella?"

"To love me again," she whispered.

"You think I don't love you anymore?"

Nodding, tears trickled down her face and she cursed herself for being weak, for letting her emotions show.

"Oh, honey, I've fucked things up bad, haven't I?"

Bella didn't reply, so when Edward's hands covered hers and he pulled her arms down between them, she was unable to keep from sobbing.

"I love you, Bella. I have since the moment I saw you in front of the school."

"Then why is saving just me not enough?" she cried. "Why do you have to save her, too?"

"Because I couldn't stop you from going through hell and I haven't been able to save Elizabeth, and, Goddamn it, Bella, I don't know what the fuck I'm doing anymore."

"Neither do I," she admitted, slipping her hands out from his and taking a step backward as she wiped her tears away. "For the past year, I've kept everything inside, pushed it away, because it was easier that way. But now — now I feel out of control and . . ."

"And?" he pressed, raising an eyebrow.

"Lost," she admitted. "I feel lost and unneeded and pathetic and guilty."

"Guilty?" he asked, appearing shocked. "Why do you feel guilty?"

"Because I wasn't strong enough to fight him," she whispered. Confessing her sins, admit her weakness, was harder than she imagined. Especially to him.

"But you did fight him, Bella. You fucking killed him."

"But not until after he took everything from me," she exclaimed. "I was stupid and naïve, I guess. I thought I was strong enough to handle the things he'd do, but I wasn't. He took my hope, my dreams, my future."

"No, honey, no." Edward reached for her, but she pulled back.

"Don't touch me," she cried, putting her hands up in front of me. "I can't . . . I can't handle that right now."

"Okay, okay, I won't," he said, sliding backward. "Tell me how to make everything better."

"Leave with me," she whispered and when he inhaled, she knew he'd heard her. "Just me and you. Let's leave and never look back. We can start over in France or Brazil, or Iowa. Just anywhere but here."

"We can't do that," he said.

"Why not?" she begged. "Why can't you and I just walk away? We can live the rest of our lives as Edward and Anna Masen. Just two married people living life and . . . and being happy."

"I want that so much. More than you'll ever know, but we can't abandon our post."

"Of course we can't," she muttered, wrapping her arms around her torso. "Tell me again how I'm your number one priority."

"You are my priority, Bella, but I've made a commitment to Alice and Aro, to Jasper, Emmett, Rose, Ben, Ang, Tyler, and everyone else who had pleaded their support to Eclipse. It's not fair to ask me to walk away like this."

"None of this is fair," she whimpered as she turned and walked toward the door. Bella paused in the entrance and looked back at him. "I love you, Edward. I always will, but it's time you choose me or them."

Bella wandered into the pasture, unsure where she was heading, but knowing that she couldn't trap herself inside the house, not with Leah in there. For the first time in the past year that she'd been free, Bella was truly afraid for her life.


	11. Chapter 11

11

Walking away from Edward was harder than Bella expected. She hated that she'd dropped an ultimatum on him, but she couldn't keep living like this. Every second that Leah was here was a reminder of how weak Bella was, how she'd taken her father's life without care.

Bella wandered out into the pasture, sitting on a log that had fallen long before she bought the place. The ranch had been her biggest purchase when planning her escape. Her realtor had been wooed by the money she flashed, her wiliness to pay in cash, and her insistence on paying all closing costs. She knew she'd have to leave Washington. There was no way she would have been able to stay in Washington. Not after making sure Carlisle Cullen paid for what he had done to her, to Leah, to Alice, and to every other person he'd hurt during his lifetime. And there had been plenty of victims to avenge.

Bella had done her research on the man. Carlisle Cullen had been born to a middle class family. His father had been a preacher, his mother a teacher. They didn't have much money, but they managed a good life. Carlisle been top of his class, attended Colombia University on a full scholarship. He studied business and had been wildly successful. He moved around a lot, known as a shark in the boardroom. He was ruthless when taking over small companies, ripping them apart, and selling them for pieces. But that was nothing — nothing compared to his personal life.

While most of what she found had been speculation, the rumors that followed him around the country were mild compared to the truth. His taste for pain and humiliation had been well-known; nothing hinted to the true ruthlessness that man lived by. He was a monster, a horrible, crazy son-of-a-bitch, and Bella was glad she'd snuffed the life out of him.

Bella was startled by the sound of a horse trotting behind her, causing her to turn on the log. Emmett had mounted her black stag, Morpheus, and had Daisy saddled next to him. Feeling her shoulders tense, she stood and prepared to defend herself against him, against his judgement.

"Get on," he said, throwing Daisy's reins at her.

Bella caught them before they hit her in the face. "Why?"

"Because Daisy needs to stretch her legs and you need to get away from the house for a bit."

"I do, do I?" She hummed. "And you think you, who has been lying to me for the past year, knows me well enough to make that assumption?"

"Ride, don't ride. I really don't give a shit, Bella. Trust me, or not, I'm here for you, to help Alice and Leah and anyone else that comes onto the ranch."

"Why?" she asked. "Why do you want to help us? Why do we matter to you?"

"If you want to know that, you'll get on Daisy and follow me."

And without giving her a chance to argue, Emmett used his heels to spur Morpheus to head further into the pasture. Without thinking, Bella pulled herself into Daisy's back and followed him. It was better than sitting by herself. She hoped. More than anything, she wanted to trust Emmett and Rose, Jasper and everyone associated with Eclipse, but mostly, she wanted her life back.

Emmett slowed down as he approached the edge of Bella's land and hopped off Morpheus, tying him to the fence post. Bella slowed down and climbed off Daisy, but held onto her reins.

"I grew up in Tennessee. My daddy worked for the lumber mill and momma owned a small daycare." Emmett smiled, finally turning and looking at Bella. "They danced every night and never left the house without a kiss and a hug. They were happy and in love. Taught me how to love a woman, how to respect her."

Emmett bent over and picked up a stick and pulled a small pocket knife out of his back pocket. He started slicing the bark off it. "They were murdered when I was sixteen."

Bella inhaled a sharp breath.

"I'd gone out that night with friends. School was out for Christmas break and school was kicking my ass hard. I just wanted to have some fun, you know?"

"Yeah," Bella whispered.

"Dad said I should stay home. It was supposed to snow and he worried because I'd just gotten my license. I didn't listen, promised I'd wear my seatbelt and be home by midnight." Emmett tossed the stick back onto the ground and closed his pocket knife, shoving it into his pocket. "The house was dark when I pulled into the driveway. I knew something was wrong because momma never went to bed until I got home. She said she worried about her baby boy too much not to wait up. So when all the lights were off, I knew something bad had happened. I just . . . Hell, I was not prepared for what I found.

"Dad had been tied to a chair in the living room. He'd been beaten, tortured, stabbed numerous times. Mom," Emmett whimpered. "Sorry, I don't talk about this a lot."

"You don't have to tell me," Bella mumbled.

"Yes, I do," he insisted. "You need to understand that when I look at you, Bella, I don't see a weak, fragile woman."

"You don't?" Bella asked.

Emmett shook his head. "My momma fought tooth and nail against the man who killed her. The police said he brutalized her for hours. He . . . raped her, sodomized her, beat her. She fought so hard her nails tore and bleed. She had dozens of broken bones."

Emmett dragged his hand over his face, wiping away the tears that had fallen. "Turned out my momma had filed a claim of child abuse against the father of one of the little girls she watched over. Said . . . said he was sexually abusing her. The state took her away from her father and since her mother had abandoned her not long after she was born, she was put in foster care. Her father went crazy. He stalked my mother. Followed her everywhere she went, called her all night, threatened to harm her. They got a restraining order, the police searched for him, but he didn't want to be found."

Emmett paused for a moment.

"He was long gone by the time I got there, but the police found evidence that momma had hurt him: his blood, hair, plenty of DNA to implicate him in their murders. They issued a county wide manhunt, closed the roads, did house to house search. They found him locked inside his house with a gun pressed against his forehead. He was drunk, covered in my parents' blood. He didn't deny what he'd done, said he'd see them in hell and killed himself. I wanted to be the one to put a bullet in him, but he stole that away from me, too."

"I'm sorry."

"Thanks, but I didn't tell you this for you feel sorry for me, Bella."

"Then why did you?"

"Because every day for the last year, I've watched as you battled through more shit than anyone should have to. I know it's not easy. When my parents were murdered, I was angry as hell. I let my anger consume me to the point that I made some decisions that would have my daddy busting my ass. Alcohol and drugs became my lifeline and I . . . Well, I'm not proud to admit it, but I wasn't a good man."

"So what changed?" Bella asked. "You seem decent enough of a guy."

"I found Rose."

"Found her?"

Emmett nodded. "Lying in the middle of the street with her skirt bunched around her waist and her head split open. Someone hadn't done nice things to her, Bella, and they left her to die. Drunk, high on whatever drugs kept the nightmares away; I picked her up and carried her six blocks to the hospital."

"Why didn't you just call an ambulance?"

"Hell if I know," he scoffed. "The doctors saved her life, said she had internal bleeding. She spent ten hours in surgery and another five days in the ICU. I never left the hospital once."

"Not even to get your fix?" Bella asked, cocking an eyebrow. "You had to be jonesing for another hit."

"Oh, I was," he said. "But I couldn't leave her. The police questioned me for hours, accused me of being the one to hurt her, but when Rose came to, she told them that I hadn't been the one to hurt her."

"Who did?"

"Not my story to tell," Emmett said. "But Rose—she gave me a reason to live, hope for a better life, I guess. It was hard as hell, but I got clean and sober. Started getting my shit together. I wanted to be the kind of man she deserved—when she was ready. I fell in love with her and somehow, the two of us have made it work."

"So what? You and Rose joined Eclipse to avenge those that hurt you?"

"Nope." He smiled. "Money's decent and we don't have to stay in one place for too long. Hell, this is the first time in a decade that we've spent more than a few months somewhere. We like our freedom, like being able to pick up and go when shit gets hard. Edward sends us where we're needed and we do what we can. That's how Eclipse works."

"And you think I'm being selfish for wanting him to focus all his attention on me?"

"No, ma'am," he said. "I happen to agree with you. Edward is a good man, but you need him to help you get past all the shit you've got bottled up inside."

"What about Leah?" Bella whispered. "Doesn't she need him?"

"Maybe, but you need him more."

"I . . . I don't know what to say," she said, sighing. "I know his work is important to him and finding Elizabeth is why he formed Eclipse."

"But?" Emmett prompted.

"But I guess I wonder if . . . I don't know . . . he blames me for not being strong enough to deal with my shit, as you called it. I'm the one who put myself in that situation. It was my choice to infiltrate Cullen's operation in the first place."

"Yeah, and you were an idiot."

Surprised, Bella snorted and turned back to Daisy, gripping the horn of the saddle and pulling herself back onto the mare's back. "Fuck you, Emmett."

"Oh, I'm sorry. Did I hurt your feelings?" he asked with a laughed, but grabbed the reins and pulled them out of Bella's hands. "I'm not going to coddle you, Bella. You made a fucking mistake when you went in. I get why you did, but you were wrong and if you'd been my wife, I wouldn't have allowed it."

"Allow me? What makes you think you'd have the right to allow me to do anything?"

"The commitment you made. Or would have made. Edward loves you too much to tell you this, but it crushed his soul when you went under."

"It crushed mine, too," Bella whimpered.

"I know," he said. "You and Edward need to work on your shit and you can't do that if you're constantly running away and he's too worried about hurting your feelings."

Emmett tossed the reins back up to her. "Decide if Edward is worth fighting for, or let him go. The decision is just as much yours as it is his."

Taking a few steps back, he tilted his head toward me. "Go. I've gotta check a few things out here. Make sure the place is still secure. I'll be back in a bit."

Bella wanted to thank him, wanted to say something profound and meaningful, but she found herself unable to find the right words. So, instead, she pulled on Daisy's reins and headed back to the house. Once she had Daisy back in her stall, Bella walked back to the house. Seth, Jake, and Leah were seated in the living room with Ben, Angela, and Tyler, who she had yet to officially meet and now wasn't the time. Shifting her attention away from them, she walked through and into the kitchen, where she found Alice, Aro, Jasper, and Rose.

"Hey," she murmured. "Is he upstairs?"

"Yes," Jasper said, placing his hands on the table and standing up. "He's packing."

"P . . .packing?"

"Apparently, Edward has decided it's time to move on from here."

Tears filled Bella's eyes as she rushed upstairs, down the short hallway, and throwing open the door to her bedroom. Edward stood next to the bed with two suitcases open in front of him and another one sitting on the floor next to him. However, instead of packing his own clothes, he was folding her jeans.

"I wasn't sure what all you'd want to take, so I figured I'd pack everything."

"You did?"

He nodded and turned his attention back to the suitcases.

Bella closed the door behind her and walked up behind him, wrapping her arms around him. The tears she'd struggle to keep from falling seeped down her face and into the back of his T-shirt.

"You'd leave all this behind for me?"

"I'd do anything for you," he said, covering her hands with his. "I love you, Bella."

"I love you, too," she whispered. "I just . . . she scares me, Edward. The look in her eyes. I don't know that she can be saved."

Edward turned so that he was facing her, his hands cupping Bella's face. "Then we'll leave and we'll start over."

"We can't," Bella said, frowning. "I want to more than anything, but . . . we can't."

Edward sighed. "Sure we can. It's what you want."

"No, it's not." Taking a step backward, Bella slipped her hands in with his. "This is my home, my safe zone, but now, I feel like I can't be myself here. I want my feelings to be more important that anyone elses. I want you to ask if you can bring strangers into my house. I don't like being spied on and lied to, and I don't like being forced to let a dangerous person around people that I care about."

"Okay," he said, slowly. "So, we're staying?"

"If you can assure me that from this point on, you won't handle me."

"Handle you?"

Bella nodded. "Having people spying on me, treating me like I'm fragile and breakable. I've earned the right to control what happens to me and inside my house, Edward."

"Okay, I can do that, but in return, I want a promise from you."

"What?"

"Don't run," he said. "When you're scared, when you feel the walls closing in on you, don't run from me. Let me help. Maybe that means you and I have to spend the day at the beach, or whatever, but we'll do it together."

"I promise," she whimpered, leaning up on her toes and placing a soft kiss on his lips. "I'd do anything for you."

"And I for you."


	12. Chapter 12

12

Bella and Edward spent the rest of the morning clearing the air between them and talking through their issues. Well, most of them. Bella still struggled to let him in on everything she felt. Keeping her feeling bottled up inside had been her way of life for too long and it was hard to change that now.

Though reluctant, Bella agreed to let Leah, Jake, and Seth stay, but made it clear there were going to be rules. So, just before lunch, they exited her bedroom and walked downstairs to the kitchen, where they found Emmett sitting with Rose, Alice, and Aro.

"Jasper head back into town?" Edward asked, sliding his arm around Bella's waist.

"No, he's touching base with James' team and making arrangements for someone to come take over your post," Emmett explained. "Since you're leaving."

Emmett looked right at Bella when he added that last part, making it clear that he was speaking directly to her. A part of her hated him for being a mean son-of-a-bitch and all but calling her a coward. The other part, however, knew he was right; she couldn't keep running every time she didn't get her way.

"Can you get him, please?" Edward asked, pulling a chair out of Bella. "And everyone else. I think it's time we have a sit down and get some shit cleared up."

"Sure thing, boss." Emmett stood and walked out of the kitchen without another glance at Bella.

"I'm going to make a sandwich. Want one?" Edward asked, walking around the table and opening the fridge.

"Yes, please," Bella murmured, pulling her knees up in front of her. The idea of everyone crowded into the kitchen scared her more than she was willing to admit, but Edward was right. They couldn't all live together without clearing the air and setting some limits.

"Sweetheart," Aro said, reaching across Alice and placing his hand on top of Bella's. "Are you all right?"

Bella opened her mouth to assure him that she was fine, that everything was okay, but that just wasn't true. "No, no, I'm not."

Aro frowned and gave her hand a squeeze before releasing it and leaning backward, his arm tightening around Alice. Bella worried about him, about how much stress he put on himself to take care of her and Alice. He wasn't a young man and his health had been compromised greatly over the last year.

"Here you go," Edward said, placing a large turkey sandwich with cheese, lettuce, tomatoes, and onions in front of her. He sat next to her with his own sandwich. "Eat."

Bella managed to eat a few bites before everyone started shuffling into the kitchen. Jake, Leah, and Seth first, followed by Ben, Angela, and Tyler. Emmett and Jasper brought up the rear. While Leah, Seth, and Jake sat on the far side of the table, everyone else, including Rose, stood around the outside.

"Um," Edward started, placing his palm on the table. "I'm not really sure how to start this, so I'll just jump in. The last few days have been . . . Well, they've been a nightmare."

"Because of us?" Jake asked and though his question was directed toward Edward, Bella could feel his focus on her.

"Yes, and no." Edward shifted in his chair. "I made the decision to bring you, Seth, and Leah here without clearing it with Bella first. And because of this, I've made her uncomfortable."

Everyone's attention shifted to Bella, who felt her skin warm. She curled her hand into a fist, struggling to keep from clawing at her skin. She didn't want the attention on her.

"B? Is that true?" Jake asked, the hurt evident in his voice.

Gnawing on the inside of her lip, Bella nodded.

"But why?"

"It's kind of obvious, isn't it?" Seth drew Jake's attention to him, but he was staring at Bella. "When you left Forks that night, you never had any intention of ever seeing us again, did you?"

"No," she admitted.

"But . . ." Jake trailed off. "But why? I mean, I don't understand. We've been friends since we were toddlers. We fucking grew up together!"

Bella pressed her lips together, feeling the attention shift once more to her. "I don't . . . I can't. . ." She huffed, her chest tightened, and she struggled to keep from fleeing. The last thing she wanted was to bare her soul right then. "It's not safe for us to be together. It won't take much for someone to put two and two together. Here, I'm . . . I'm not Bella anymore. I'm Anna Mason."

"That's not what _he_ called you," Leah sang, her eyes glued to Bella. "You were _his_ little girl."

Bella clenched her jaw tight. "Shut up. Just shut the fuck up!"

"Everyone needs to calm down," Emmett said, shifting so that he was standing closer to the table. "We're not here to talk about anything that happened a year ago. This meeting is about what's going on right now. Right, Edward?"

"Yes, exactly. Thank you, Emmett." Edward once more shifted in his chair. "I should have talked to Bella first, made sure she was okay with you coming here. I didn't and that lies on my shoulders, but if you want to stay here, there are going to be some rules."

"Rules?" Seth asked. "What rules?"

"Like no liquor," Edward told him, but his focus was on Leah. "If you're caught with it again, you'll be asked to leave. Is that understood?"

"Yep," Leah chirped, leaning forward and placing her chin on the palm of her hand.

"Good," Edward said. "Also, if you want to stay here, you're going to have to earn your keep."

"How?" Jake asked.

"Emmett needs ranch hands," Bella said, tilting her head toward him. "There's plenty of work to be done in the stables. Fences that need repair, taking care of the horses, etc."

"I've got a long to-do list," Emmett confirmed.

"And for those of us who don't want to work the ranch?" Leah asked, smirking. "I've never been the kind of girl to get my hands _dirty_. You know that, _Bella_."

Bella wanted nothing more than to wipe that smirk off her face. Leah hadn't been like this snarky before and it scared her. "I'm sure I can find something inside the house." She paused, shifting her attention to Jasper and back. "Especially since Alice will be going to work with Jasper."

"I will?" Alice asked, her eyes widening.

"Oh, yeah," Jasper said, clearing his throat. "You and Aro both. I need a lot of help and you'd be doing me a favor."

"Oh," Alice murmured, titling her head toward her grandfather. "Is that okay, Nonno?"

"Of course, dolce nipote. Whatever you wish," Aro told her, but his eyes shifted to Bella.

"How sweet," Leah cooed, placing her hand on the table. "Guess that leaves just you and me to keep these guys in line, doesn't it, Bella? Just you and me."

"Guess so," Bella muttered, her hands curling into fists.

Edward placed his hand on top of hers, almost as if he were trying to keep her from losing her shit, which she was. "There will be a curfew, too. You must be inside the house by ten p.m. and no wandering before eight in the morning. Nobody is to go into town alone, either. Either Emmett, Rose, Jasper, Bella, or myself must be with you. I know that seems unfair, but to be honest, we're taking a huge risk by bringing you here."

"What kind of risk?" Seth asked, his lips curling into a frown.

"Aro, Alice, and I have spent the last year acclimating ourselves into this town. They know us, like us. She's my sister and he's our grandfather. We're a family," Bella explained. "Bringing three new, completely unknown people into my house is a risk to our safety, one I'm not thrilled about taking."

"Oh," Seth murmured. "Then, maybe we should leave."

"What?" Leah gasped, while Jake sighed. "We can't leave her!"

"She's already done too much for us, Leah," Seth argued.

"But . . . No. No!" she screamed, leaping from her chair so fast that it flew backward, crashing onto the floor. Leah slammed her hands onto the table, causing Alice to shriek and bolt from the room, hurrying upstairs.

Jake was immediately on his feet, his arms wrapped around her, pulling her away from the table. "Baby, calm down."

"I can't leave her. I can't leave her!" Leah screamed, fighting his hold on her.

"Get her out of here!" Bella snarled, her fists so tight she could feel her nails digging into the palm of her hands.

Jasper and Emmett helped Jake wrestle a fighting Leah out of the room.

"Bella, look at me." Edward placed his hands on top of her fists.

She shifted her attention to him.

"Take a deep breath. It's okay."

"It's not okay," she murmured. "She's not safe. She needs more help than we can give her here."

"Okay, sweetheart, I'll see if I can find somewhere else to send her, but right now, this is all we've got."

"B." Seth's voice seemed like it echoed throughout the room, though he barely spoke above a whisper. She shifted her attention to him; the hurt and anguish on his face cutting her deep. "We've done the best we can with her, but she's . . . she's not the same Leah anymore. I don't . . . I don't know what to do anymore."

"I can't save her this time," Bella whimpered. "I can't, Seth. I can't . . . Not after. . ." Bella shook her head, dislodging tears. "You can stay until Edward finds a better solution, but I can't take care of her, of you, of Jake. . . I'm sorry. I'm not strong enough anymore."

"I understand," he said, though she could tell that he didn't. He wanted her to be Leah's salvation again, to give him his sister back, but the Leah he'd known was dead. Seth pushed his chair away from the table and stood up, walking out of the room without another word.

"I should go check on Alice," Bella mumbled.

"No," Aro said, placing his hand on her shoulder. "I've got Alice. You finish eating your sandwich."

Bella nodded, but didn't make an effort to pick up her food. Once Aro was out of the room, Ben, Tyler, and Angela took the seats vacated by Seth, Jake, and Leah.

"Well, that was fun," Ben said, his eyes shifting between her and Edward. "We haven't officially met."

"No, we haven't," Bella said, quietly. "But it wasn't difficult to figure out who was who. You're Ben, right?"

He nodded. "We didn't want to bring her here, but when she attacked Seth, we knew she needed more than we could give her."

"So I've heard, but we're not the ones to give her that help. We're kind of busy trying to take care of ourselves. I know it seems bitchy, but . . ." Bella shook her head, drawing her hand up to her chest. "I'm not a hero. I can't save the world."

"You already have," Angela said, drawing Bella's attention to her. "Seventy-eight people were found in the brothel run by Esme Platt. Runaways who thought they'd never seen their mothers and fathers again. And from the files you sent us from Carlisle Cullen led us to another three dozen girls who had been trafficked across the country. You stopped men like Eleazar Santiago and Demetri Romanoff from preying on innocent young girls. Maybe it's not the whole world, Bella, but it's a good chunk of it."

"Maybe," she said, quietly. "But I lost myself in the fight."

"That might be true. Honestly, I don't know you well enough to say." Angela leaned back in her chair, making it clear she was done speaking.

"So, what's the plan with Leah? If she can't stay here, I don't know where else to take her," Tyler said, clearing his throat. "Well, except . . ."

"Yeah, I was hoping to avoid Denali," Edward said, softly. "But we don't have a choice. I'll make contact with Marcus."

"What's Denali?" Bella asked, drawing Edward's attention to her. "Who's Marcus?"

"Marcus is the man who recruited me to the FBI, who helped me get Eclipse set up. He runs a compound in Denali, Alaska. They . . . Well, they specialize in intense, in-house psycho-therapy. Sometimes, the people we save are too far gone for our help, and he has ways of helping them."

"Like how?" The question made her uneasy and she wasn't sure she wanted an answer, but at the same time, she needed to know.

Edward shifted toward her. "Sometimes, like with Leah, the abuse they trauma they suffered during captivity is . . . well, too much for them to process. They have a psychotic break and they become dangerous. I had hoped to avoid sending her to Denali because, well, she was family. But I don't think we have a choice. If she can't stay here, Denali is the only other place to take her."

"Oh." Bella bit the inside of her lip, wondering if she should feel guilty for leaving him other option. Leah was her family at one time, her sister in many ways, but now, things had changed. Hadn't they?

"Are we taking her?" Ben asked, drawing everyone's attention to him.

"No," Edward said, quickly. "I'll make arranges to get her there myself. I have a new mission for you three."

"Oh, what's that?" Angela asked, her excitement made Bella nauseas, but she didn't say anything.

"Rose has a lead on this Sandman person," Edward said, but before he could utter another sound, Leah laughed and their attention was drawn to the doorway where she stood. Her eyes were wide and full of darkness.

"You're looking for the Sandman?" she asked, almost singing his name. "The Sandman likes his pretty little girls."

"You met the Sandman?"

"Everyone knows the Sandman. He was vicious monster before Anna took all his toys away. I can only imagine how upset he was."

"What's he look like?" Edward asked, placing his hand on Bella's knee.

Leah shook her head and took a step backward. "Not gonna tell ya."

"Why won't you tell us what he looks like?" Angela asked, but Leah's attention was on Bella.

"I'll tell you his real name, but only on one condition."

"What's that?" Bella wondered.

"You, and only you, have to take me wherever I'm going. Just me and just you."


	13. Chapter 13

13

The room had been stunned into silence as Leah's request lingered. She seriously thought Bella would travel thousands of miles with her — alone. Anxious and terrified at the mere thought of being alone with her, Bella shook her head, her arms trembling and her legs feeling like lead weights had been strapped around her ankles, but before she could cry or scream or fight to escape the room, Emmett rushed into the kitchen with a silver revolver clutched in his meaty hand.

"Someone's coming up the drive."

Bella scrambled into the living room and peered out the front window, inwardly groaning when she spotted the beat up pick-up rambling up the drive.

"For fuck sake. It's Newton again," she muttered under her breath as she turned and rushed to the door, stepping out onto the porch.

He'd shown up twice after she first arrived on the ranch. The first time, it was to welcome her to the area, the second was to drop off some paint she'd ordered but hadn't picked up yet. Both times, Bella kept him out of the house and away from Alice, and had thought she'd made it clear he wasn't welcome here. Clearly, she'd been wrong.

Mike pulled to a stop next to Edward's mustang and climbed out, glancing at the sleek black car with curiosity, but quickly turned his attention to her. A cheesy, creepy smile spread across his face and she was once again reminded of the fathers of the boys in her graduating class, the ones who relived their glory days through their sons.

"Hey, Anna," he said, stopping at the base of the steps leading to her porch. "Nice evening, isn't it?"

"Guess so," she said, shortly. "What do you want, Mike? I didn't have an order that I forgot to pick up, did I?"

Mike laughed. "No, no, nothing like that. I, um, I was wondering if you'd like to, maybe, join me for dinner."

"Oh." Bella shifted uneasily from one foot to the other, bringing her hand up to the back of her neck, but before she could let him down gently, the door to the house opened and she looked back to find Edward stepping outside. "What are you doing?"

Edward simply smiled, though, and slipped his arm around her waist as he turned his attention down to Mike. "I'm sorry, but Anna can't have dinner with you."

"Who are you?" Mike asked, almost demanding. There was a tone to his voice that scared Bella and she struggled with the urge to run and hide.

"I'm Edward. I'm Anna's husband," he said, tightening his arm around her. "And you are?"

"Oh, um, I'm Mike . . . Mike Newton. I know Anna from town. She, uh, never mentioned that she was married."

"Not like we're friends, Mike," Bella scoffed. "I've come into your store a handful of times. Why would I discuss my private life with you?"

"No reason," he said, his eyes flickering from her to Edward and back. "I'm sorry to interrupt your evening. I . . . I'll just . . ."

Mike turned on his heel and hurried to his truck, climbing in behind the wheel. Bella could feel his eyes on her as he started the truck and backed up. Finally, he looked away and left.

"Does he come out here a lot?" Edward asked, pulling her attention back to him.

"No," she said, quietly. "A couple times when I first arrived, but I thought I made it clear he wasn't welcomed here. I guess not."

"Hmm." Edward hummed and shifted so that he was standing in front of her. "Are you okay? Tell me what you need me to do."

"I don't know," she whimpered, blowing out a heavy breath. "I know we need the information that Leah has about the Sandman, but I cannot be alone with her, Edward. I can't do it. I just . . . can't."

"Shh," he soothed, keeping his arm around her waist, but bringing his other hand up to her cheek, cradling her face in his hand. "That's never going to happen, Bella. Never."

"But —"

"No," he said more forcefully. "I will not put you in that position. I love you too damn much to even consider it, Bella."

Nodding, Bella closed her eyes, feeling her tears slid down her face. "I love you, too."

Edward led Bella back into the house, stopping next to Jasper and Emmett, who were standing just inside the front door. "Do a background on that Newton guy. Something feels off about him."

"Will do, boss," Emmett said, giving Bella a look before disappearing into another room.

Edward pressed his palm against Bella's back, encouraging her to move forward. She sighed inwardly and reentered the kitchen, where Ben, Angela, Tyler, and Rose were still seated around the table and Leah, Jake, and Seth were standing along the wall.

"Ben, Angela, Tyler — Go with Rose. She'll bring you up to date about the Sandman. I'll be there in a few minutes to give you your assignment," Edward said. "Jasper, go with Leah to her room. Help her pack her stuff."

"All right." Tyler stood and led the other two and Rose out of the kitchen without another word, though all four of them looked at Bella before they left. She wanted to scream at them to stop, to leave, to make everything better.

"Are you coming with me, Bella?" Leah asked, stepping away from Jasper as he tried to corral her toward the staircase. "Just you and me, right?"

No screamed inside her head, but she found herself until to respond. Leah was dangerous; she was enjoying her little game, enjoying torturing Bella with snarky little comments and sly insults. Leah was too far gone to save. Bella knew it, even if nobody else did.

"Jasper," Edward murmured, tilting his head toward the stairs.

Nodding, Jasper manhandled Leah, who struggled against him, up the stairs and out of sight. Bella blew out a relieved breath, though her shoulders still felt tense and rigid. Once they were gone, Edward sighed and curled his fingers around the top of the wooden chair at the table.

"Seth, Jake — I'm sorry that I couldn't help her. I wanted to, but . . ." Edward shook his head. "You have to make a choice. I have a contact, a colleague, who has a compound in the Denali National Park up in Alaska. He . . . he specializes in rehabilitating abuse victims who need more intensive therapy. Mostly women like . . ." Edward cleared his throat. "Women like Leah."

"What do you mean intense therapy?" Jake asked, his eyes full of fear and fright.

Edward hesitated before saying, "Sometimes, when a person has been through what she has, her mental health is altered to a point where she's lost her grasp on what's real and what's fake. Leah needs help from someone who won't put up with her bullshit, someone who will keep her from hurting herself, or someone else."

"Will she ever be better?" Seth asked. "Will she ever be the same Leah she was before?"

"No," Bella murmured, drawing everyone's attention to her. "No, Seth, no. That Leah's gone. She's dead. They killed parts of her soul every time they raped her, every time they made her cry or scream or . . . or beg for more," she cried, bringing her hand up to her throat. "She's gone forever."

"He did all that to you, and you're okay," Seth argued.

"I'm not okay," Bella scoffed through the tears. "I'm fucked up, and what's worse is that it's my fault. I let myself be treated like that because Leah needed me, and Alice needed me, and Elizabeth needed me. I lost my identity, my innocence, because I wanted to be the hero," she whimpered. "I'm not okay, Seth, and I never will be again."

"I'm sorry," he said, dragging his hand through his hair. "We shouldn't have let you go after Leah. We should have . . . Fuck, we should have killed him ourselves."

Bella didn't argue with them. She hadn't understood the power that men like Carlisle Cullen had until she found herself under his control. Still, they could have overpowered him, taken him out themselves, but they didn't. They didn't fight for Leah, fight for Alice, or for Bella. They let her do the fighting, let her die for the sake of justice.

"So, how are we getting to Alaska?" Jake asked.

Edward frowned and slipped his arm from around Bella. "You're not going with her."

"Wait. What?" Seth asked, his attention shifting from him to Bella and back. "Why aren't we going with her?"

"Because she will never be one hundred percent open to the process with you and Jake hovering over her all the time." Edward paused. "Look, I know it's hard to let her go. She's your sister, Seth, and your fiancé, Jake, but you cannot fix her. She needs more than you'll be able to give her. I'm sorry."

"But . . ." Jake shook his head. "What am I supposed to do? She's everything to me. I've loved her since we were twelve years old."

"Then let her go," Bella murmured. "Let her go get the help and support she needs, Jake."

"Yeah, yeah, of course we will," Seth groused. "We'll settle somewhere alone, or maybe hook up with Sam and Emily. We can't go back to Forks, not ever, but we'll settle somewhere so that when she's ready, when she's better, she'll have a home to come to."

"I hope so."

Jasper and Leah came downstairs a few minutes later with her bag clutched in her hands. Her eyes immediately locked on Bella, her lips curving upward. Seth and Jake might believe that she's going to be saved, that she'll come out the other end happy and healthy, but Bella didn't agree. Leah didn't want to be saved. Leah was forever lost.

"This is your chance to say goodbye," Edward told Leah, gesturing toward Seth and Jake. "I'll give you a few minutes."

"Do I get to say goodbye to you, Bella?" Leah asked, not even bothering to glance at her brother and fiancé.

"No." And without another word, Bella turned and walked into the living room. Her heart was racing her, but she tried to stay strong, to keep from losing her shit again. Rose, Ben, Tyler, and Angela shifted their attention to her. "He'll be another minute or two."

A few minutes later, Edward led Leah into the living room with Seth and Jake right behind them. Shifting his eyes to Bella first, he addressed Ben. "You and Tyler are going to escort Leah to Denali. Marcus is expecting you in three days. I'll arrange for Liam's team to meet you at the boarder tomorrow, and then Ced's team will meet you the next day. Liam should be able to help you get across the board without any trouble."

Edward turned to Angela. "I want you to go with Rose and Emmett. Once Ben and Tyler get Leah settled, they'll meet up with you."

"Okay," she said, though Bella could tell she wasn't comfortable being separated from her team.

Bella and Edward followed Leah, Ben, and Tyler out of the house and stood on the porch while they loaded into the car they'd arrived in. As they drove away, Bella had hoped to feel relieved that she was gone, but relief didn't come.

—BR—

Seth and Jake were gone first thing the next morning. Bella hated that they hadn't said goodbye, but she couldn't blame them. She wasn't their friend anymore. She had pushed everyone away, kept everyone at arm's length to keep from getting hurt. Everyone but Edward, at least. Seth and Jake needed someone to hold their hands and tell them that Leah would be okay and Bella couldn't do that.

"Am I still going to work with Jasper?" Alice asked as she and Bella sat at the kitchen table. Edward had headed to the barn to talk with Emmett and Rose before they left with Angela on their new mission. He was sending them back West to Utah to meet up with another member of Eclipse. Garrett had picked up the trail of someone close to Sandman, or so they hoped. Bella wasn't optimistic.

"Do you want to?" Bella asked, quietly. Aro had gone to lay down after breakfast. She worried about him, about the toll that taking care of Alice was having on his health.

Alice shrugged her shoulders, though her cheeks pinked just slightly. "I don't know."

"If you want to work with him, I'm sure Jasper would love to have you help him," Bella murmured. "He's a good guy."

"I know."

Alice slipped away from the table and walked back upstairs. Bella quickly cleaned up the breakfast dishes and headed out to the barn. Edward, Rose, Emmett, and Angela looked back at her, only Edward smiling when she stepped inside.

"Can I come in?" she asked.

"Of course," Edward said, reaching for her. "Where's Alice and Aro?"

"In the house."

He nodded and turned back to the others. "Ben and Tyler should be crossing the border in the next couple hours. They called in a couple hours ago, said Leah hadn't said a word since they left. Not sure if she's resigned to what's happening, or if what. Told them to text me when they cross and I'll alert Ced's team that they are on their way. The faster they can get to Denali, the better."

"Flying would have been faster," Angela groused. "But I know why you couldn't do that. Can't stay under the radar that way."

Edward nodded, shifting his attention back to Bella. "Got plans for today?"

Bella shook her head. "I, um, kind of wanted to get back on my laptop. Do some research. Help with finding Elizabeth."

"Okay," he said, smiling and turned back to Rose, Emmett, and Angela. "Let me know when you've figured out your plan."

"We will," Rose said, tilting her head forward, but not meeting Bella's eyes.

Edward placed his hand on the small of Bella's back and led her out of the barn and back into the house. As they settled with their laptops, Bella couldn't help wonder what plan Edward was talking about and why he felt the need to keep her out of everything. Hadn't she proved herself?

Hours passed in silence. It wasn't awkward or weird, just silent. Just Bella and Edward sitting around the table, doing what they do. She could imagine their future like this, where she wasn't the sad pathetic victim and he wasn't her savior.

Emmett, Rose, and Angela flittered in and out of the house. Aro and Alice did the same, spending part of the day out in the barn and then watching videos on YouTube. Alice loved YouTube and it was one of the few times that she laughed. It was during those moments that Bella could almost see the young, carefree girl she used to be.

"Oh, my God, Nonno, play it again!" Alice laughed. "Bella, come watch this. It's a baby elephant trying to walk for the first time. It's so cute!"

"One sec," she said with a smile just as Edward's cell rang. She turned back to him as he answered it with a lazy, "This is Edward."

His eyes widened and he leapt out of his seat so fast that Bella automatically flinched. "What? . . . Is he okay? . . . Okay, okay, do not leave his side. We will be there as soon as we can."

Edward ended his call and dropped his phone onto the table. Exhaling a deep breath, he fell back into his chair and shifted his eyes to Bella. Somehow, she knew what he was going to say before he said it.

"Leah attached Tyler when he was taking her to the bathroom. She's . . . she's gone. Ben can't find her."


	14. Chapter 14

14

Bella's world felt like it was closing in around her as Edward's words hit her like a ton of bricks. Bile filled her throat as she rushed to the front door, making sure the door was already locked. Leah had attacked Tyler. Leah had hurt Tyler. Leah had escaped. Leah was more dangerous than Bella ever imagined.

"Where were they?" Angela asked, ending the deafening silence that had filled the air. Bella shifted her attention to the woman, surprised to find her still in control of her emotions. Bella would have been a mess. She _was_ a mess, yet Angela seemed composed.

"They stopped just outside of Great Falls, Montana. Ben said Leah hadn't uttered a sound until she asked to use the restroom. Tyler escorted her, and when they didn't come back to the car after almost ten minutes, Ben went to check on them. He found Tyler inside one of the stalls in the ladies' room. He had cuts on his arms and hands. Looks like Leah attacked him and broke a mirror. She used a shard from the mirror to stab him several times before dragging his body into the stall. Ben called 911 and set off to find Leah, but she was gone."

Angela nodded and looked down at her watch. "Okay, I can be ready in ten minutes."

Edward replied with a nod and waited for her to leave the room before he turned toward Bella, and she knew he was leaving her behind.

"No," she said, the simple word struggling to leave her mouth. "No, Edward!"

"Babe," he started, but clamped his lips shut when she threw herself at him, grabbing the front of his shirt.

"No!" she cried. "You're not leaving me again!"

"Okay, okay," he murmured, covering her hands with his. "Go pack us each a bag."

Bella tore her hands from beneath his and rushed upstairs to their bedroom, throwing the door open with more force than was needed. She scrambled about the room, throwing the first articles of clothing her fingers touched onto the bed. Her hands trembled, her legs felt like they'd break any moment, and her heart raced. She'd known Leah was dangerous but nobody believed her.

"Shit," she muttered, leaving the clothes on the bed as she rushed back downstairs, finding Emmet, Jasper, and Edward huddled together. "She knows where we are."

Edward, Jasper, and Emmett shifted their attention to her, as did Aro and Alice, both of whom were sitting in stunned silence.

"She knows where we are, how to get back here. She'll come here looking for me," Bella whimpered. "Everyone has to leave. We have to abandon the ranch."

Edward dragged his hand through his hair as he looked from Aro to Alice. "Okay, here's what's going to happen. Everyone needs to pack up as much as you can carry. Only take what you cannot live without. We'll meet back here in ten minutes."

"Ed," Jasper murmured, drawing his attention away. "Plan B?"

Edward nodded, but didn't say anything else as he swept across the room to Bella and almost pushing her back up the stairs. Once they were inside their bedroom, he closed the door behind them and shifted his attention to her.

"What's Plan B?" she asked, crossing her arms in front of her chest.

"If I hadn't been able to stir the FBI's investigation away from you after you faked the accident, and your death, Plan B was going to have you, Alice, and Aro going underground for a while. We have a bunker set up in Wyoming, but we were hoping not to have to use it. But with Leah on the loose, I don't think we have a choice."

"So you just expect me to go into hiding while you do what?"

"I'm going to go find Leah and take care of her."

"By taking her to Denali?" Bella asked.

"Maybe," he said, shifting his attention to the floor. "Or maybe not."

"You'd kill her?"

"If that meant keeping you safe." Edward shifted his eyes back up to her. "I don't want to hurt her, Bella, but I won't let her get close to you."

"So I'm supposed to go into hiding while you go after her?" Bella scoffed. "That's not happening. We'll take Aro and Alice to the bunker, but I'm going with you."

"Bella," Edward groaned and moved so that he was sitting on the edge of the bed.

"No, don't sit there and treat me like a child," she argued. "I can't let you go again, Edward; not when I know she's willing to kill to get to me."

Edward sighed and reached for Bella, who moved to him so that she was standing in front of him. He gripped her hips and rested his forehead against her stomach. "Okay."

Surprised that he gave in so early, she said, "Really? You'll let me go with you?"

Edward nodded and looked up at her. "I'll admit to feeling safer knowing that you're with me, and not at the bunker. I'll have Jasper, Angela, and Ben stay with them. Tyler can be transferred when he's ready. Emmett and Rose can go with us, if that's okay with you?"

Bella bit the inside of her lip as she nodded. She was terrified, of course. While she liked both Emmett and Rose, she wasn't sure how she would handle being closed up in a car with them for hours at a time. She also worried about Alice. Would she feel that Bella was abandoning her?

"Finish packing for us while I go make a few arrangements."

Bella nodded, but waited until Edward had left before she started shoving clothes into their duffle bags.

—BR—

A little over ten minutes later, Bella hoisted the two duffle bags onto her shoulders and carried them downstairs, finding everyone waiting for them with their own bags.

"Is it true?" Alice asked before anyone could say anything. "You're leaving me, Bella?"

"For a little while," she said, dropping the bags on the floor and slowly walking up to her. She held her hands out to Alice, who wrapped her tiny fingers around Bella's. "I have to in order to keep you safe, sweetie."

"It's not because you like her more than me?" Alice asked, her lips trembling.

"No, of course not," Bella insisted. "You're my sister, right?"

"You should stay with us, Bella," Aro argued. He was standing few feet behind Alice, his eyes red and his cheeks still wet. "I'll keep you safe."

"I can't," she whispered. "I can't let him go again. I'm sorry, but I can't."

"You're too stubborn for your own good, sweetheart," Aro muttered and shook his head. "Where was he when you put yourself in the hands of a madman?"

Bella's mouth flopped open. She'd never heard Aro speak with such spitefulness and anger. "We've already talked about that."

"Yes, yes, I know." He waved an irritated hand in the air. "Nobody tells you what to do and you make your own choices. Well, I'm sorry, Bella, but that's horse shit."

"Excuse me?" she asked, shortly.

"No, I don't think I will," Aro continued. "You've paid a lifetimes worth of pain because of that girl. And for what? Nothing! She taunts you left and right, makes you miserable, yet you want to go find her? Stay with us, Bella. Let them find her. You don't have to be the hero every time!"

"I'm not trying to be the hero," she argued, her tears betraying her as they dripped down her face. "I cannot let him go, Aro. Edward is everything to me. When . . . when Carlisle Cullen was . . ." Bella paused and took a deep breath. "When he was raping me and hitting me, Edward was the reason I never gave up. He was . . . is the only person who I trust not break me again. I'm sorry, but I can't let him go again."

"You love him," Alice whispered, her eyes wide and childlike. "It's like a fairy tale, isn't it? He's your prince and you're his fair maiden."

"No, Alice," Bella said, sadly. "It's nothing like a fairy tale. I'm just a girl like you, who's lucky enough to have found someone who loves me."

Bella sighed. "You and Aro are going to be fine without me, okay? Jasper and Angela are going to be with you. And Ben will be there, too. Just . . . just be strong for me, okay?"

"Promise to come for us?" Alice asked.

"I'll do everything I can," she said, quietly. "That's the best I can offer."

Alice nodded and stepped back next to Aro, who refused to meet Bella's eye. She understood that he was angry, scared, and tired. So very tired. She hated that the brunt of everything seemed to fall at his feet.

"Aro," Bella murmured. "I'm sorry."

"Yeah," he agreed. "We'll be outside."

Bella wanted more than anything for him to understand why she couldn't let Edward go. Aro loved her as his own, treated her as his own, too. He and Alice were the closest people she had toward family, but she'd let them go if that meant being with Edward. He was everything she needed and wanted.

"Okay, so Ben will meet you at the bunker. Said it would be a couple days before Tyler is stable enough to be moved, so I'm going to have Liam's team escort him. They're keeping an eye out of Leah, too, in case she decides to finish what she started," Edward explained, propping his hands on his hips. "Jasper, I need you to coordinate with Garrett's team. Have them meet us in Montana. It should take us almost five hours to fly."

"We're flying?" Bella asked, surprised. She had assumed they would be driving.

Edward nodded. "Emmett's got a pilot's license. It's faster. It'd take us too long to drive and we need to get on her trail sooner, rather than later." He turned back to Jasper. "Have Garrett start hitting his contacts. We need as many eyes looking for her as we can find. It's important that she's found by the right people."

"You mean by members of Eclipse?" Bella asked, and once more Edward nodded. "What happens if she's not? What if the regular police find her?"

"Officially, Seth, Jake, Leah, Sam, and Emily are considered missing out of La Push. They didn't cover their tracks as well as you did, though. There are questions about why they left."

"I thought you had everything covered?"

"I do," Edward said, "but like I said, they didn't cover their tracks as well. A couple weeks after you left, they were spotted outside Portland, Oregon. By the time agents got there, they were gone. I also intercepted intel about phone calls to Leah's mother."

"You think she'd run back to Sue?" Bella asked.

"I don't know. I have someone keeping eyes on her, but I just . . . I just don't know, Bella. She's fucked up, you know?"

Bella nodded. "We should go. We're wasting time."

As they shuffled out of the house, Bella couldn't help but feel a pang in her chest. The ranch had been her home, her sanctuary for a year, but now, it was too dangerous for them to remain. She'd always known this day was coming.

Once upon a time, her life had been simple, easy even. Sure her father had been a useless drunk, but she had friends who loved her, people to count on. But then Carlisle Cullen decided to take Leah from them. In that one decision, by a sick, sadistic bastard, the lives of so many had changed. No longer was Bella the quiet girl hiding behind her laptop. She was a killer, a murderer, and she had a feeling by the time this part of her life came to an end, she'd have more blood on her hands.


	15. Chapter 15

15

Guilt filled Bella as she stood back and watched Angela, Jasper, Alice, and Aro drive away from the house in the new truck Bella had just bought weeks before. She knew there was no way Aro and Alice could go with them in search of Leah. Alice simply wasn't strong enough to handle such a dangerous mission, but still, they'd been there for her every night of the last year. They had cried together, screamed together. The only thing they hadn't done was heal.

"Come on," Edward said, placing his hand on the top of her back. "They'll be fine. Jasper and Angela will keep them safe."

Bella nodded. "I know."

She allowed him to lead her to his car. Emmett and Rose had already left, telling Edward they'd meet him at the small airstrip Emmett kept his plane. Edward opened the passenger door for her, but Bella paused, and turned her attention to the house.

"We'll never get to come back here, will we?"

"Probably not," he admitted. "Emmett's arranged for your horses to be taken to a ranch in New Mexico. It's a therapy center for kids with trauma disorders. He figured you'd want them to help other people."

"He's right," she whispered as tears filled her eyes.

"We'll wait a couple weeks and then list the land and house for sale. Should be a quick sale. I'll make sure the place gets cleared first. There won't be any trace that you, Alice, or Aro were ever here."

"We'll disappear," she said, looking at him. "Anna Mason will have moved on with her life."

Edward frowned. "I wish it didn't have to be like this."

"Me too, but it is what it is, so let's not dwell." Bella slid into the car and reached for the handle, but Edward knelt next to her. "It's just hard. This place saved me, Edward."

"You saved you," he said, bringing his hand up to her face. "I'm sorry that my stupidity cost you this place. You told me not to bring her here, and I ignored you. For that, I am so sorry."

Bella nodded, leaning into his touch. "Let's just hope she doesn't hurt anyone before we find her."

Edward sighed, but nodded before standing up and letting Bella pull the door closed. He rushed around the car and climbed in behind the wheel. As he cranked the engine and pulled away from the house, Bella couldn't shake the feeling of dread that filled her — a feeling she hadn't had since the night she left Forks, Washington.

—BR—

Twenty minutes later, after making sure that they weren't being followed, Edward pulled his car up to the side of a small hanger at what appeared to be an abandoned airstrip. As Bella climbed out of the car, she looked around. There were half a dozen metal hangers surrounding the end of the runway, each one needing a good painting and several windows replaced. The grass was overgrown, and the runway overrun with weeds.

"Are you sure we're at the right place?" she asked, but before Edward could answer, the doors on the hanger next to them parted and a moderate sized passenger plane rolled out. Bella had been expecting one of those small, four seaters, not a small plane big enough to seat at least a dozen people.

"Yeah, pretty sure," Edward yelled over the roar of the plane.

He grabbed their bags from the trunk and reached for her hand, which she gave. They ran over to the plane just as the door on the side opened and a set of stairs descended. Bella looked up, finding Rose standing at the top.

"Here, give me your bags," she yelled, reaching toward them.

Edward gave her one bag at a time before gesturing for Bella to climb onboard. She had never flown before. It cost money to fly, money her 'father' spent on booze. Bella closed her eyes and pushed any thought of that man out of her head as she gripped the small railing and heaved herself onto the first step, then the next, and the next, until she ducked her head and stepped into the plane. The inside was even more of a surprise than the outside. Instead of typical rows of seats, there were small sections that were grouped together making small couches.

"Take a seat and get buckled in," Rose said, carefully placing her fingers on Bella's arm, who pulled away from the touch. "We need to get in the air."

Bella nodded and selected a seat in the back of the plane. As she reached for her seatbelt, she saw Emmett in the cockpit, his phone pressed to his ear. He looked back, his eyes landing on her, before he nodded and hung up.

"I'm going to sit in the cockpit with Em," Edward said, kneeling in front of Bella and connecting her seatbelt. "That okay?"

She nodded, not knowing whether it was okay or not.

"If you need me, just yell."

"Okay," she whispered, curling her hands into fists.

Edward leaned up and kissed her before rushing past Rose, who was stowing their bags, and climbing into the seat next to Emmett. He looked back at her, winking before grabbing a pair of bulking headphones and covering his ears.

Rose took the seat across from Bella, attaching her own seatbelt. "Close your eyes as we leave the ground and take deep breathes. It helps."

"All right," she said, shoving her hands under her legs as the plane started moving.

Bella tried to keep her breathing even as the plane continues to pick up speed, but found it difficult. Moments later, she felt the jerk as the front wheels left the ground. She clamped her eyes closed and took several deep breathes before the plane seemed to level out. Opening her eyes, she found Rose smiling at her.

"You survived!"

"If you say so," Bella groused. "Sorry, never done this before."

"You get used to it." Rose unbuckled her seatbelt and stood up. "Water?"

Bella shook her head, not trusting her stomach.

Rose grabbed herself a bottle, one for Emmett, and one for Edward, before taking the seat across from Bella again. "Emmett said he told you his side of our story."

Bella's eyes widened. "Told him he didn't have to."

"I'm not mad," she said, waving her off. "Neither Emmett nor I hide our pasts, Bella. We don't advertise them, but we don't hid them, either. They've made us who we are. If Emmett's parents hadn't been murdered, he wouldn't be the man he is today, and he's a damn good man."

"I know he is," she said, quietly. "I just learned a long time ago, long before Carlisle Cullen ever laid a hand on me, that good men were rare."

"I wasn't like you, Bella," Rose said. "I grew up in a house full of love and acceptance. All my parents cared about was that I was happy." She took another drink of her water. "I was twenty when I met Emmett. I had just started my junior year at Brown, was starting to think about my future. Finals had just ended and I needed to release some stress, so when my roommate invited me to go out with her and some friends to get drinks, I said yes. I'd never been much of a drinker, but that night, I had way more than I should have."

Rose paused, her lips curving into a frown. "I don't remember leaving the club. I don't remember why I left alone. But I do remember the feeling of someone grabbing me, of them dragging me into the alley. I remember their hands touching me, the smell of their breath. Whiskey, I think. I remember them inside me, them telling me how much I liked it, how much I'd teased them. It was in that moment that I realized that the man raping me was the boyfriend of my roommate. He'd followed me that night when I left the club, took advantage of my moment of stupidity."

Rose closed her eyes for a moment before they opened and she looked back at Bella. "When he was done, when he'd taken everything from me, he beat me until I was almost dead. He thought I was dead. He left me laying in the alley, left thinking he'd get away with it. I was lucky that Emmett found me, that he rushed me to the hospital. The doctors said if he hadn't, I wouldn't have survived. When I could finally tell the police who had attacked me, they called me a liar, said the son of the mayor would never do something so depraved. Royce King was considered royalty, and while my family had money, we were peasants compared to the King Family. They refused to file charges, saying there wasn't any proof. Just my word against his. My roommate turned against me, everyone turned against me. Everyone except my parents and Emmett. He was always there, always holding my hand. He saved me, Bella."

"You feel in love with him," she said, quietly.

"I did over time. It wasn't easy to let him in, and it wasn't easy for him to let me in, to change his life, but he did. Drugs and alcohol had become his refuge to the pain and guilt for not being able to save his parents. Without them, he had to face his feelings head on. As did I. Together, we've created a decent life for ourselves."

"What about your parents?" Bella asked. "Do you ever see them?"

Rose frowned. "They died last year in a car accident, but they were always just a phone call away, for me or Emmett."

"I'm sorry."

"Don't be. It was right before we met you. Helping you and Alice and Aro, it gave us a reason to keep going."

Bella nodded. "I understand why you didn't tell me who you were, or your affiliation with Edward, but I trusted you, Rose."

"No, you didn't," she disagreed with a smile. "And I don't blame you, either."

"You don't?"

She shook her head.

"Think you're the only one who doesn't."

"Emmett doesn't. Jasper doesn't. Edward doesn't. After everything you've been through, Bella, it's a wonder that you can function from day to day."

"Who says I can," she scoffed.

"I've seen you doing it," Rose laughed before tossing her empty water bottle in the trash. "We're going to find Leah, Bella, and hopefully, we can get her the help she needs."

"I hope so."

—BR—

"Look at you," Carlisle Cullen purred, running his hand down Bella's back, caressing her ass. She whimpered, the feel of his hands had her trembling. "I've been fantasizing of you like this all day. Strung up in front of me like a good, little whore."

Bella cried around the gag that filled her mouth. Her arms ached from being pulled up over her head all day. Carlisle had tied her hands together that morning after he forced her to suck his cock, as he always did. Her toes barely reached the floor, the pressure on her shoulders had been excruciating.

Carlisle brought his hand up to the back of her head, grabbing her hair and yanking backward. Bella screamed, though the sound was muffled by the gag. "I sent some men to your daddy today. Told them to make sure he satisfied them in every possible way. You know what that means, don't you?"

Bella refused to acknowledge the question.

"Maybe I should have them come see you," he said with a smirk. "See who sucks dick better: you or your daddy."

Carlisle laughed as he released her. She watched as he strolled across the room, opening the cabinet once more. He looked back at her and smiled before pulled out what looked like an electric prop that ranchers used on cattle. Bella's eyes widened as he closed the cabinet and walked back to her. He removed the gag, tossing it onto the cement table.

"I want to hear you scream, hear you beg for mercy."

"I'll never—"

But before Bella could finish speaking, Carlisle pressed the tip of the prod against her right breast. Over and over, he pressed it into her skin. Her screams echoed throughout the room, as they had since the moment she walked into his house.

"Bella, baby, wake up," Edward said, grabbing hold of her arms.

Bella snapped her eye open, the realization that she'd drifted to sleep hitting her like a ton of bricks. Rose was standing next to the cockpit, her eyes wide and her fingers covering her mouth. Emmett kept looking back over his shoulder at her.

"Hey, look at me," Edward told her softly. She shifted her eyes back to him. "You're okay. It was just a nightmare."

Bella nodded, sliding out from under him as she sat up. "Please stop staring at me."

"Oh, sorry," Rose said, and turned to face Emmett, though Bella knew they were still listening.

"Are we almost there?" Bella asked, pulling her knees up in front of her. She tucked her arms between them and her torso, feeling to see if the marks from the prod were still present. They were, just faded than they had been a year ago.

"Still have about half an hour." Edward shifted from the floor to the seat next to her. "I shouldn't have left you back here by yourself."

Bella bit her lip, unsure what to say.

"It sounded bad," he whispered.

She nodded and looked away. "It always was."

"Bella—"

"I'm okay now, Edward," she said, interrupting him.

Edward sighed, but didn't press the issue. Bella knew he only wanted to help, but knowing the sordid details of what she'd put herself through wasn't going to help anyone, least of all her. He was the only person who didn't look at her with pity and she'd do everything she could to keep it that way.


	16. Chapter 16

16

Bella tried to lock her emotions away as Emmett landed the plane with a slight jarring. Edward had insisted that Emmett could handle the plane on his own. She could tell he had been freaked out by her nightmare. Hell, she was, too, and she had lived through it. She hated that she had lost control. For a year she had been able to keep her feelings locked away, focusing instead on keeping Alice safe.

"Garrett's going to be waiting for us inside the office," Edward said as he unhooked her seatbelt. He unlatched his own and stood up, offering Bella his hand. "Just a heads up, but he's kind of rough looking."

"How so?" she asked as she stood.

Edward pressed his lips together. "He has scars. Lots of them."

"Oh."

Emmett and Rose lead them off the plane, across a small lot to a brick building that reminded Bella a little too much of the brothel Esme Platt had ran. There were camera's perched above the door, giving the occupant full knowledge that he had visitors. Bella curled her hands into fists as Emmett stopped and knocked on the door three times. The sun had already set and there wasn't much lighting around the small, derelict airstrip. Less ten seconds later, Emmett knocked again.

"I'm coming," yelled a gruff voice from inside. "Keep your panties on, McCarty."

The night air echoed with the sound of several locks being turned. The door crept open with a loud creak and light flooded from inside, silhouetting the tall, broad-shouldered man in the doorway. "About time y'all got here."

"Sorry," Emmett said, before squeezing in between the man and the door. "Air was choppy."

The man grunted, but didn't say anything else as Rose and then Edward stepped inside. But Bella pulled her hand out of Edward's, causing him to look back at her, then at the man, and back at her.

"I don't know him," she said, wishing her voice had been stronger.

Edward stepped back outside, his hand sliding around her waist. "This is Garrett Mitchell. He keeps his eyes and ears on this area." Edward pressed his lips against her ear. "He won't hurt you. I promise."

Yet Bella just stood there, unable to trust her feet to move. The man pushed the door open more, stepping out so that she could get better look at him. Not only was he tall and broad in the shoulders, but he had long, dirty blond hair that he wore pulled back at the nape of his neck, which was covered in long thin scars that, Bella suspected, resembled the ones on her back, arms, and legs. His eyes were a bright, baby blue. He had just the right amount of stubble, and there were two long scars along his left cheek, another one above and below his right eye.

"You're Bella." Garrett stated this as a fact, not a question, but she found herself nodding anyway. "Hmm. You coming in?"

"Suppose so."

Bella pressed herself as far away from Garrett as she could as she stepped inside. The small office was cluttered with stacks of files lining three of the four walls, as well as the desk. It smells of rot and dust. As the door clanked to a close behind her, she looked back at Garrett, who was turning all the seven locks.

"I'd offer you some food or drink, but I ain't got none," he said, turning back to face them, his eyes landing on Bella first. "Got a couple leads on your runaway. Police have been chattering all day about her. They've damn near searched house to house. No sign, but a trucker headed west put out a squawk that a woman matching her description was offering sexual favors for rides. Not sure of he meant it as a warning or a heads up to anyone looking to get their dicks sucked." Bella inhaled a sharp breath, causing Garrett to stop and look at her. "Problem?"

"You do know what she's been through, don't you? You know her case, right?"

He nodded, folding his arms in front of him.

"Then how can you be so . . . blasé about this?"

"I'm not," he said.

Bella could feel Rose, Emmett, and Edward watching her. She wanted to scream at them to stop, to leave her alone, but instead, she found herself staring at Garrett.

"I'm stating the facts. Your runaway is selling herself by the mile. It ain't pretty, but nothing about this life is pretty. The sooner you learn that, sweetheart, the better."

"You think I don't know what this life, as you call it, is like?" she asked.

Garrett smiled. "You know what you want yourself to know."

"We're wasting valuable time," Edward said, moving to wrap his arm around Bella, but she stepped away from him and closer to the door. "She's heading west, right? You think she's going back to Washington?"

"That's where I'd go," Garrett said, shrugging his shoulders. "She still got family there, don't she?"

"She's not going to them," Bella said, once again drawing everyone's attention to her.

"What makes you think that?" Rose asked, lifting an eyebrow.

"Because she doesn't have a family to go back to anymore. She and Seth were extremely close growing up. The fact that she's heading west and not east toward him tells me that she's going back for different reasons."

"And those reasons are?" Emmett pressed.

"She's going back to him," Bella whispered.

"Cullen?" Edward asked, but Bella shook her head. "Oh."

"Yeah," she barely whispered, dragging her hand to the back of her neck.

"Who?" Emmett asked, his hands planted on his hips.

Bella couldn't get the words to leave her mouth as she scooted closer to the door. She should have seen this coming, expected Leah to lure her back there, back to the man who had ruined her life.

"Who is she going to?" Rose questioned while Garrett was watching Bella, almost as if he expected her to come at him with a knife.

"Bella's father," Edward said, dragging his fingers through his hair. "She's bringing Bella back home."

—BR—

"You know how to use this?" Garrett held a gun out to Bella, who had spent the last twenty minutes pressed against the door to the small building while he, Emmett, Rose, and Edward gathered weapons, planned their routine on the map, and tried to formulate a plan of attack against Leah.

"In theory," she replied, not making an effort to take the weapon. "I'm better with a knife."

"So I've heard," he said, pulling the weapon back toward him. "For the sake of being thorough, let me talk you through using this."

"It's not just point and shoot?"

Garrett laughed, drawing Edward's attention to them. "No, sweetheart, it's not. This here is a Glock 43. Smaller nine millimeter handgun. Holds only six rounds, but it won't have as much of a kickback as other weapons. It's small, so you can conceal it easier. Now, here is the safety. Never take it off safety unless you're prepared to use it, understand."

Bella nodded. This time when Garrett held it out to her, she took it. The gun felt heavy in her hand. She wrapped her fingers around the grip, but kept her finger away from the trigger. "You think I'll need it?"

"Hope not, but I don't go in the field with anyone who isn't prepared. I can take you out back and let you take a few shots if you want?" he offered, raising an eyebrow.

Bella quickly shook her head.

"Didn't think so," he groused. "If you need to pee, better go now. We ain't stopping until we get to Forks."

"I'm fine," she whispered.

Garrett grunted, but didn't say anything as he left her standing next to the door with the weapon still in her hand. Edward grabbed one of the backpacks he had been packing and walked over to her. Taking the gun from her hand, he double checked that the safety was on and slide into the front pocket.

"He's a little paranoid, but for good reason," Edward said, softly.

"Aren't we all," she muttered.

"Yeah, I guess so," he chuckled, placing the backpack at her feet and bringing his hand up to her face, pushing her hair behind her ear. "You don't have to this."

"Yes, I do," she whispered. "I . . . I made this mess, and it's up to me to clean it up."

"Bella," he murmured, leaning his forehead against hers.

"Let's go," Garrett ordered, causing Edward to take a step backward. "We've already lost precious time."

As Garrett came toward her, Bella moved away from the door. He unlocked all the locks and held the door open as Emmett, Rose, Edward, and Bella walked back outside. The night had turned chilly and Bella found it refreshing.

"This way," Garrett ordered, gesturing with a flashlight for them to follow him down the runway to a decrepit metal building. He tucked the flashlight into his back pocket as he unlocked the sliding door and pushed it open. There were half a dozen cars inside, everything from small compact cars, motorbikes, and large SUVSs. "We can take the one in the back. It's gassed up and ready."

Bella stayed outside the building while Emmett and Edward grabbed their bags from the plane and loaded them into the back of the black, government looking SUV. Garrett slid behind the wheel and pulled the vehicle out, shifting into park while everyone loaded up—everyone but Bella.

She found herself feeling uneasy. If she sat in the back with Edward, there was no way for her to escape. The middle offered more options, but then she would be surrounded. Emmett and Rose made the decision easier when they climbed into the very back, leaving the middle or the front next to Garrett.

"In or out, sweetheart," Garrett called from the behind the wheel. "We ain't got all night."

Bella sucked the inside of her lip before sliding into the front passenger seat. She closed the door and pulled on her seatbelt, all while trying not to scream. Maybe she should have gone with Aro and Alice after all.

—BR—

They were four hours into their thirteen hour trip when Garrett reached over and turned off the radio, drawing Bella's attention to him. Emmett, Rose, and Edward had all fallen asleep less than an hour into their drive, but Bella was too nervous, too scared to sleep.

"So, you're the famous Bella Swan, huh?" he asked, draping his hand over the steering wheel.

"Not for over a year," she replied. "Or didn't you hear? She died in Wyoming. Tragic accident, of course."

"Heard about that," he chuckled. "Clever. Though, from what I hear about you, clever isn't a good description of you."

Bella inhaled a sharp breath as she hugged her knees to her chest. "And what would be?"

"Depends on who you ask," he said, changing lanes and passing a semi. He moved back into the right lane. "Your man there calls you brave and inspirational. McCarty calls you reckless and stupid."

"And what do you call me?" Bella asked.

"Don't know you well enough to call you anything," he replied. "Not many people thrust themselves into the belly of the beast to save their friend. Maybe that does make you brave like Mason says, or stupid like McCarty does. Doesn't really matter how we see you, either, does it?"

"Not really," she admitted.

"Would you do it again?"

Bella tensed. "Knowing what I do now? No. No, instead I would have run as far away as I could, left it for someone else to deal with."

"I don't believe you."

"Why not?"

Garrett shifted his eyes to hers for a minute before looking back at the road. "For the same reason you're sitting here next to me instead of going to the bunker with the others. You're a fighter, Swan. You'll give up your life if that means saving the ones you love. Nobel, of course, but stupid, too."

"Wow, you just have me all figured out, don't you?"

Garrett nodded. "Easy read."

"Yeah?"

"Yep."

"Why do you say that?"

"Because when I look at you, I see myself," he replied before reaching over and turning the radio back on. Clearly, he was done with their conversation.


	17. Chapter 17

17

Bella wasn't sure she liked Garrett. The scars on his body told her that he understood something about pain, maybe even humiliation, yet he came off as harsh and bit of an asshole.

As they continued to roll toward Forks, Bella found herself second guessing her decision to make the trip. A smarter person would have gone with Alice and Aro to the bunker, they would have hidden away and let someone else take care of Leah. But Bella had never been smart. After all, smart people don't sacrifice their souls for their best friend.

"How close are we?" Edward asked, drawing Bella's attention to the backseat, where he was stretched out. Emmett and Rose were still asleep in the back of the SUV. How they could sleep knowing that Leah was out there bothered Bella. Did they just not understand how dangerous she was?

"Seventy-three miles," Garrett groused. "Want to wake those two so we can make a plan? Unless you were thinking about just hitting the town with both guns blazing."

Edward snorted, but shifted in the seat and placed his hand on Emmett's shoulder. The large man woke with a start, his eyes shifting to each of them, stopping on Bella last.

"Babe," Emmett murmured to Rose, who groaned and opened her eyes.

"Sorry, guys, but we're close," Edward said, shrugging his shoulders.

"How close?" Rose asked, sitting up and pulling her blond hair into a ponytail. She dug a hairband out of her pocket and wrapping her hair through it.

"Just over an hour," he said, turning back toward Bella and Garrett. "So, we need a plan. Can't just stroll through town and do a house to house, can we?"

"Any idea where she'd go?" Garret asked, pressing his foot onto the gas pedal as he passed a semi. "You said she's bringing Swan here back. Where would she expect her to go?"

Edward shifted his eyes to Bella, who frowned. "Her father's house."

Garrett nodded and sped up.

Forty-five minutes later, Garrett pulled the SUV up in front of the rubble that had once been Bella's childhood home. As everyone else climbed out and stood on the sidewalk, Bella stayed inside the SUV. The last thing she needed was a reminder of the night she killed her father. He begged for mercy, kept screaming that he hadn't meant to hurt Leah, that she wanted him to fuck her and call her by Bella's name. Sliding her blade into him had been easier than she expected. Charlie Swan stopped being her father the moment he agreed to let men rape her so he could buy his own little whore.

Of course Bella knew Leah wouldn't be at Charlie's house. She had been there when Bella lit it in fire, letting the flames engulf what was left of her father. But more importantly, Leah was bringing Bella back to own up to her sins, and there was only one place she could do that.

Bella shifted her attention out the window as Garrett, Edward, Emmett, and Rose were in deep conversation, trying to figure out where to go next. Biting the inside of her lip, Bella slipped across the middle console, and into the driver's seat. Garrett had of course taken the keys, but that wasn't going to stop Bella, who quickly hotwired the car thanks to the knowledge she had learned hanging out on the reservation with Jack, Sam, Seth, and Leah.

At the sound of the engine roaring to life, everyone looked back at her, their eyes widening. Edward took two steps toward her, but Bella flicked the locks before shifting the car into drive and taking off, knowing that by the time they caught up with her, she or Leah would be dead. Maybe both of them.

—BR—

As Bella pulled up in front of the large, grotesque house that haunted her every night, her heart raced and her legs felt weak, yet heavy at the same time. A year hadn't been nice to the place. Weeds had crept up throughout the once pristine yard. Windows had been shattered, and Bella had a mental picture of teenage boys throwing rocks through the glimmering glass, betting on who could do more damage.

The yellow and black police tape had been ripped away from the front door, which had been left wide open. Bella slipped the Glock 43 out of the front pocket of her backpack, tossing the bag onto the porch before blowing out a deep breath and walking into the house.

Her hands were trembling, her eyes stinging as tears threatened to fall. When she walked out of that house a year ago, she never thought she'd be back. Of course, she realized now how naïve that had been. This house had been her Hell, and if anyone deserved to go to Hell, it was her.

A shiver filled her as she stood just inside and looked around. The furniture had been turned over, tables broken, couch slashed to pieces. Whether that was the work of the FBI or just people angry over the control that Cullen had over the town, Bella didn't know. It could have been either. Bella shifted her eyes to the stairs, but her instincts told her that Leah wouldn't be up there. Instead, Bella quietly slipped down toward the back of the house, to the room of pleasure and pain that Carlisle Cullen had loved so much.

The door was wide open and a light shone from inside. Bile filled her throat, the taste of it on her tongue causing her to grimace as she choked it back and carefully slipped into the room. Leah was standing on the far side of the room, in front of the large wooden cross. Flickering on the wall behind the cross was a video recording of Carlisle Cullen fucking Bella as she screamed for mercy, while she begged him to stop.

"I knew you'd come." Leah smiled as she turned and faced Bella. Her left hand was wrapped around a black handgun that matched closely to the one she held, while Leah's other hand came up over her breast and wrapped around her throat. "You can't help yourself. Always trying to be the hero, save the day."

Bella didn't respond. There was nothing she could say, nothing that would make what she was going to have to do easier.

"Sir never brought me here," Leah said with a sigh as she turned her attention back to the video. "I expected him to bring me here, but I was just his office slut, I guess. Sir's whore between eight and five. Sir's and whoever he sent to my apartment." Lean shifted her eyes back toward Bella. "Men like Daddy. He loved his sweet little Bella. Loved when she cried, loved when she begged him to fuck her ass. Oh, Daddy, don't stop. More, Daddy, more."

Bella tensed as her grip on the gun tightened.

"But you know, don't you?" Leah took two steps toward her right, causing Bella to move in the same direction. She smiled. "Sir wanted you, needed you. He tossed me aside, gave me to Daddy so he could have you. Bet he did horribly, naughty things to you in here, didn't he? Sir loves his whore, loves her screams."

Leah tapped the barrel of the gun against the side of her leg. "You should have killed me that night, too. You took Daddy from me," she murmured. "You couldn't just leave us alone, could you? You had to come in and take him from me, just like you did Sir."

Bella simply stared at her, which appeared to infuriate Leah, who shrieked and grabbed a fistful of her dirty, matted hair.

"Don't act like you don't know what you did!" Leah screamed. "Daddy loved me, loved his sweet little Bella!"

Leah dropped her hands to her side, taking a deep breath as she smiled at Bella again. "You were jealous of me and Daddy, weren't you?"

Bella scoffed.

"You were!" Leah laughed. "Oh, it makes sense now. You wanted Daddy all for yourself, wanted him to love you the way he loved me."

"Loved you?" Bella muttered, shaking her head. "He didn't love you, Leah. He used you. Made you pretend to be me because that's as close as he was going to get to fucking me."

"That's not true!" Leah exclaimed, the gun tapping even harder against the side of her leg.

"Isn't it?" Bella asked, quirking an eyebrow. "Think about it. He never called you by name, did he? Nope! It was always call me Daddy, Bella. Be my whore, Bella, but never Leah. Never you."

"It was a game," she insisted. "He loved me."

"Please," Bella snorted.

"At least he didn't give me away!" Leah raged. "Nobody wanted you, Bella. Not your mommy. She killed herself so she wouldn't have to be around you anymore."

"Shut your fucking mouth!" Bella screamed, her arm lifting from her side as she pointed the gun at the girl who had once been her best friend.

"Aw, poor little Bella," Leah tittered, tilting her head to the side. "You don't really believe that she was sick, do you? Your momma couldn't stand the sight of you, and slit her wrists to get away from you."

"That's not true," Bella denied through gritted teeth. "You're a fucking liar."

"Am I? You sure about that, sweetheart?" Leah grinned. "I almost feel sorry for you."

"Feel sorry for me?" Bella scoffed, letting her arm drop to her side. "I'm not the one who craves to be beaten, Leah. I wanted to save you, to make everything okay, but I couldn't. You're broken, and nobody can fix you."

"Then why are you here?" Leah asked, raising her gun and pointing it at Bella, who mimicked her action.

"Because, like you said, I should have just killed you that night."

Leah laughed. "You came here to kill me? You can't kill someone who's already dead, Bella."

"I'm sorry I couldn't do more for you, Lee," Bella whimpered. "You were my best friend."

"Yeah, I was."

The sound of Leah's gun firing echoed just moments before Bella pulled the trigger. Like in the movies, time seemed to slow down, and Bella watched the shock that filled Leah's eyes as a bullet tore through the flesh, shattered bone, and sank into her chest. Bella didn't feel the sharp, stinging pain as Leah's bullet blasted through her shoulder. She jerked backward onto the floor at the same moment Leah crumbled to the floor, her eyes open and lifeless.


	18. Chapter 18

18

"Bella!"

Bella looked toward the door of the room of torture just seconds before Edward skidded to a stop. His eyes landed on her as she sat on the floor, blood oozing from the gunshot wound in her shoulder. However, the movie Leah set to play drew his attention away, his face crumbling as he watched Carlisle Cullen forcing himself inside her over and over while she screamed for him to stop, begged him to stop. One hand was wrapped around her throat, while the other was pulling her head backward.

"Where the fuck is she?" Garrett pushed Edward out of the way as he stormed into the room — though he, too, stopped when he saw the movie flickering on the wall. His eyes widened and he looked down at her with pity. "Shit, Swan."

"We've got to go," Emmett urged as he followed Garrett into the room, a handheld radio up to his ear. Just like Garrett and Edward, he stopped in the doorway as his attention was drawn to Bella's torment. "Oh, my God."

"He loved it when I cried," Bella said, her eyes locked on Edward, who snapped his eyes toward her. "Said it was music to his ears. He was going to beat the life out of me. That's what he said: he was going to beat the life out of me, and he did. He really did."

Edward hurried to her, dropping to his knees next to her. One arm wrapped around her waist while the other came up to cup her face. "Sweetheart, I'm . . . I'm sorry."

"I wanted to save her," she whimpered.

"I know," he whispered, pressing his lips against her forehead. "Come on. We've got to go before the cops arrive."

Nodding, Bella allowed him to help her to her feet. As Edward led her by Garrett, the latter reached his hand toward Bella, who flinched away from him. "I don't like to be touched."

"Fair enough," he said. "Did you touch anything?"

"No," she replied. "Don't let them see it."

Garrett's eyes flittered to the movie as he nodded and hurried past her. Edward tightened his arm around her waist as he led her through the house and out to the SUV, where Rose was waiting. Her eyes widened when she saw the bullet wound in her shoulder.

"Shit," she swore, reaching for Bella, who once again pulled away. "I need to check it out. See if we need to risk a visit to the hospital."

"It's nothing," Bella insisted.

Rose snorted and moved so that Bella had no choice but to let her cheek out her shoulder. "It went through. Doesn't seem like it's done any damage, but we need to get her checked out. Can't go anywhere local, obviously. I know a guy in Port Angeles."

"Port Angeles?" Bella asked, the realization that she had been shot hitting her, causing her legs to feel heavy.

Rose nodded and threw open the back door to the black SUV. "He owes me a favor, and, well, he's not technically licensed to practice medicine anymore, but he'll make sure nobody knows we were there."

"Oh." Bella wasn't sure what else to say, so instead, she allowed Edward to help her into the backseat of the SUV, leaning against him when he slid into the seat next to her. "I wanted to save her," she murmured once more before her eyes closed and she lost herself to the darkness.

—BR—

Bella's mouth was dry, her lips chapped, and her body ached. Her eyes were heavy, and she struggled to pry them open, only for them to close again. After a few attempts, she found herself laying on a lumpy, uncomfortable bed, in a dimly lit room. A stench of rot and dust filled her nostrils, but before she could make a sound, Edward's voice trickled from the darkness.

"Are you sure nobody will know she was there? Like one-hundred and ten perfect sure?"

"Yes," Garrett replied, his tone irritated. "McCarty and I scrubbed the entire house. We also destroy the flash drive that little bitch had with your little Swan's videos on it. Any idea how she got them?"

"No," Edward said with a sigh. "Bella sent me everything she got from Cullen, except for the videos of her. I just assumed she destroyed them."

Someone, Bella assumed it to be Garrett, snorted, but when they spoke, their voice was deeper, gruffer than Garrett's. "Clearly not. Not that it matters at this point. She's lucky to be alive. An inch in either direction and you'd be trying to hide two bodies, not one."

Bella whimpered as she rolled onto her side, drawing the attention of Edward, Garrett, and a third man, who stepped out of the darkness and into the dull lighting a single lightbulb provided. Tall and thin, he had shortly cropped blond hair and bright blue eyes. He stepped around Edward and reached for Bella, who shifted away from him, only to release that her shirt had been removed. She pulled the flimsy sheet that had been used to cover her, upward and scooted up the bed, ignoring the pain radiating throughout her body.

"Careful," the thin man said and took a step backward. "You're going to pop your stitches open."

"Who are you?" Bella asked, her throat dry.

"Name's Peter. Sorry about your shirt. Only way to get to your shoulder properly. Rose went to find you something new to wear. She should be back soon."

Bella nodded, her eyes flittering to Garrett and finally to Edward. "I didn't have a choice. It was me or her."

"I know." Edward walked over to the bed, sitting on the side. "Don't worry about her anymore. We've taken care of her."

"What does that mean?"

"It just means that she won't be found until we're ready for her to be found. And they won't be able to tie you to her death, either."

Bella nodded. "So that's it? I killed her and you make everything disappear again?"

Edward pressed his lips together.

"That's what I thought," she scoffed, holding the sheet tighter against her body.

"You didn't exactly leave us a lot of choice," Edward quipped. "Taking off on your own like that."

Bella rolled her eyes.

"Don't do that!" Edward yelled, standing and peering down at her.

"Do what?" she asked, trying to climb off the bed, but stopping when Peter, Edward, and Garrett made to push her back down. "Don't fucking touch me!"

"Then don't be stupid," Garrett groused.

"Fuck you," Bella snarled. "You don't get to stand there and judge me. You think we could have saved her? Leah was too far gone. She started to like it, need it. In the end, she wanted him to hurt her. Don't you get it? She didn't hate me because I couldn't stop her from being hurt. She hated me because they wanted me more than her!"

"You didn't have to be the one to kill her, Bella," Edward said, dragging a hand through his hair.

"Yes, I did," she spoke quietly. "It was always going to be me or her. Besides, I already have blood on my hands. What's a little more?"

Edward frowned and sat back on the edge of the bed. "You could have been the one who died."

"But I wasn't." Bella scooted across the bed, keeping her arm pressed against the sheet hiding her body. She pressed herself against Edward, who snaked an arm around her. "I'm sorry I scared you."

"I can't lose you," Edward whimpered, and Bella heard Garrett and Peter mutter something about giving them a few minutes alone before they hurried out of the dingy room.

"You won't," she lied. There was no way she could promise him a forever, not when she knew how fleeting life could be.

Edward leaned his forehead against hers. "I really fucking hope not."

—BR—

Bella wasn't sure how long they'd been sitting wrapped in each other's arms when the door was thrown open and Rose stormed in with a shopping bag in one hand and Emmett, Garrett, and Peter behind her.

"I hope you know what we had to do to get you here safely, Bella," Rose said, tossing the bag at her feet. "Get dressed. We've been compromised."

"What? How?" Edward asked, scrambling off the bed, jarring Bella's hurt shoulder in the process.

"Picked up chatter on my way back from Seattle. Anonymous tip was called into the police station in Forks forty-five minutes ago, saying Isabella Swan was alive and well and laying low here. I figure we've got about five minutes before they are busting the door down seeing as they think she died in a fiery crash over in Wyoming."

"Shit," Edward snarled, standing and dragging his hand through his hair. "Who the hell made this so called tip?"

"I don't know. Caller was male from what I heard," Rose said with a shrug of her shoulders. "We need to head back east. Go to the bunker. We can regroup and figure out our next step from there."

Edward nodded, his head turning toward Peter. "You coming with us?"

"Can't very well stay here now that the cops know about me, can I?" Peter grumbled.

"Load up as much as you can. We're out of here in three minutes."

Everyone scrambled from the room, leaving just Edward and Bella. He turned and grabbed the bag off the floor, dumping the black sweatpants and long-sleeve T-shirt on the bed. "Guess I didn't hide you as well as I wanted."

"Yeah," she murmured and stood up with a wince. Her body ached, her shoulder throbbing. "I'm sorry."

"Don't be." Edward picked up the pants and held them so she could step into them. "I shouldn't have brought her to you in the first place. What worries me is who called you out like this?"

"Seth? Sam? Make Jake? Though, I don't think they'd help her, do you?" Bella asked, trying to keep from wincing as Edward helped her dress.

"No. I've, um, I've got people watching them. Seth and Jake met up with Sam and Emily in New Mexico. They didn't take the news of Leah's death well, but they didn't seem like they blamed you. According to Hank, anyway."

Bella nodded, unsure of what to say.

"Hey, it's okay." Edward brought his hands up and cupped her face gently. "Everything's going to be okay."

"Yeah?" Bella asked, and when he nodded, she felt a tear slip down her face. "I thought I was saving her. She was my best friend. I just . . . I wanted to save her."

"I know, sweetheart." Edward pressed his lips against her forehead. "Come on. We've got to hurry."

Bella repressed a sigh and finished dressing, stifling the wince that rushed to the tip of her tongue when she slipped on the T-shirt Rose had gotten her. Once ready, Edward wrapped his arm around her waist and led her out of the room, up a flight of wooden stairs and into the kitchen of what looked like a rundown diner. Garrett, Rose, Emmett, and Peter were crowded around the back door, each of them looking at Bella when they entered the room. It didn't take a genius to read their expressions. They loathed her, blamed her for compromising their positions. Yet, she couldn't find it in herself to care. She'd done what had to be done. Leah was a liability.

"It's clear," Rose said after peeking out the back door.

Edward and Bella followed her and Emmett outside. While Emmett and Rose took the backseats again, Edward pulled Bella into the middle seat of the black SUV with him, instead of letting her sit in the front. It was both comforting and uncomfortable. With Garrett and Peter in the front, they sped away from the diner. Bella leaned her body against Edward's and prayed for a life where she didn't have blood on her hands.


	19. Chapter 19

19

The almost nineteen hour drive from Port Angeles to the bunker, which happened to be just outside of Savageton, Wyoming, was excruciating for several reason. First, though Bella tried not to let it show, her shoulder throbbed. The pain radiated throughout her body; however, she wasn't sure that was just from the hole in her shoulder, or the physical exhaustion that came with killing her best friend. Logically, Bella knew she had done the right thing, but that didn't make the guilt she felt lesson. One more body to add to her collection. She wasn't any better than Carlisle Cullen.

The second reason that made the drive excruciating was the way everyone watched her, without actually watching her. Edward kept his arm around her, or his hand on her leg. Somehow always finding a way to keep a physical connection with her. Perhaps he worried that she'd throw the door open and leap to her death, or maybe he wondered if it would be better if he threw her out and ridded himself of the burden of having a wife that wasn't strong enough to keep her shit together.

Several times during their long, exhausting drive, Bella sensed Emmett's hand over her shoulder, his fingers brushing against the back of her hair. Peter and Garrett looked back at her, though Garrett was smoother about it than the other man in the passenger seat of the SUV. He used his mirror to make eye contact. The look he'd give her was full of pity and grief, sorrow and perhaps even disgust. They'd seen her — all of her in the midst of her personal hell. The faded scars that marred her torso from where Carlisle Cullen had brutalized her, the agony of her screams, pleas for mercy, and the understanding that she willingly put herself in his hands just so she could be the hero.

"Some hero I was," she muttered under her breath.

Bella shivered at the thought of the man who had destroyed her life. Being back in that room — it was enough to send Bella into a spiraling meltdown, one she kept locked inside. She'd been the one to put herself in his hands, after all. If anyone to blame from breaking her spirit, it was Bella herself.

Garrett pulled up in front the bunker just as the sun was beginning to set. If Bella hadn't been expecting it, she would have overlooked the thick metal door that had been built into the mountain side. Only the door and two dusty windows gave any sign that there was a building hidden inside the earth. Clever hideout, she thought, and she could understand why Edward had it in case of emergencies.

Bella winced as she slid out of the backseat of the SUV. Edward's arm was automatically around her waist, and she fought against the urge to push him away, to scream at him not to touch her ever again.

"You're sure nobody will find us here?" Bella heard herself asked, feeling everyone's eyes shift from the door to her.

"Yes," Edward murmured, pressing his lips against the side of her head.

That proved to be too much for Bella, and she yanked herself out of his embrace and turned to get back into the car. She reached for the handle, but before she could wrap her fingers around it, the door to the bunker was pushed open and when she looked back, she saw Jasper standing in the entry space.

Bella stumbled backward, crying out as her shoulder exploded in pain from the sudden movement. She shifted her eyes back to Edward before she sucked in a deep breath and shook her head. "I can't go in there. Not yet. I'm sorry, but I . . . I just can't."

"Okay," he said, tilting his head toward the entrance. "Everyone, get inside. We'll be there when she's ready."

"Ed . . ." Garrett said, but didn't add anything before he hurried inside with Peter, Emmett, and Rose following. Jasper gave them a fleeting look before he stepped back inside the bunker and closed the door.

"I'm sorry," Bella murmured, cradling her arm against her as she took several steps toward her right.

"Don't be sorry. Just tell me what's going on inside that head of yours."

"I . . ." She shook her head. "I thought I was prepared for anything that could happen when I walked into that house. I kept telling myself that there was nothing he could do that would break me. I was stronger than him, determined to find Leah and Alice. Save them for Jake and Aro. I was going to be their salvation." Bella paused, struggling to keep her tears from falling. "I never wanted you to see me like that. Forced onto my knees, my terror on display."

Edward sucked in a deep breath. "Yeah, can't say I was ready for that, either."

"I wanted to save her," Bella whispered. "That's all I wanted, but I . . . I think I broke her instead."

"No," Edward insisted with an airy gasp as he reached for her, but Bella pulled away. "Sweetheart, you didn't break her. Cullen broke her. That motherfucker you once called your father broke her."

"How could she want that again? I don't understand, Edward. I don't fucking understand!"

"Shh." Edward was careful to wrap his arms around her and nestled her against his chest. "I don't understand, either, but that doesn't make it your fault. Leah just . . . she found herself lost in this world."

Bella's body shook with sobs as she gave up and let her tears fall, the words, "I'm sorry," falling from her lips over and over. Sorry for killing Cullen, her father, Leah; Sorry for putting herself in hell; But mostly sorry for not being strong enough to survive. Inside, Bella was already dead.

—BR—

"Are you ready to go inside?" Edward whispered, not wanting to pressure her, but knew others would be worried if they didn't go inside. Especially Garrett. The man knew better than any of them what Bella had been through.

"It's safe?" she murmured, tightening her grip on the front of his shirt.

He knew the protective way of holding her was hurting her shoulder, but every time over the last half hour that he tried to loosen his grip, she whimpered and clung tighter onto his shirt. Bella needed him and for once, he was going to be there for her.

"It is," he said. "Nobody inside this place is going to hurt you, sweetheart. I promise."

Bella nodded, but didn't loosen her grip on his shirt. The vision of her being raped, the sound of her screams haunted him. He had known, of course, but seeing it flashing on the wall, hearing her pleas for help, for mercy, had been worse than anything he had imagined. How she survived was beyond him. Well, he wasn't sure you could call her surviving. She was barely hanging on and Edward hadn't a clue how to help her. He'd never felt so helpless.

"Come on," he murmured, feeling her body tense against his as he shuffled them toward the doorway.

Edward kept her tucked against him as he reached out and pulled the door open, a loud creaking noise echoed around them. As he shuffled them over the threshold, a light flickered on, and Bella whimpered. He wanted to take her and run, leave everyone to fend for themselves, but he couldn't. There wasn't anywhere else to take her, so for now they'd have to bunker down and pray whoever tipped the cops in Port Angeles that she was still alive hadn't followed them.

Edward pulled the door shut behind them, making sure it was locked before nearly dragging Bella's trembling body down a long, dim hallway. He stopped outside of another door and pressed his lips against the top of her head before raising his hand and thwacking his knuckles against it once, twice, and then a third time.

A pregnant pause settled around them before he heard the door's lock click and it was pulled open, Jasper once more standing in the doorway. There weren't many people he trusted with everything, Bella being one and Jasper being the other.

"Garrett's already updated me," Jasper said, pulling the door open enough to allow Edward to help Bella inside. "Shit just got fucked up."

"Yep," Edward agreed, but didn't say anything else before tightening his arm around Bella and leading her through the control room, down another hallway to a series of small bedroom. He pushed open the door to the first room on the left and led Bella inside. "Sorry, it's not nicer."

"It's okay," she whispered, finally releasing her grip on his shirt. She winced as she walked over to the full size bed and sat on the edge. "I fucked everything up, didn't I?"

"No," he said, walking over to a cabinet and pulling out a pair of musty sweats and an old T-shirt of his. He'd stashed them there after Bella fled from Forks, praying the day wouldn't come that they had to seek refuge at the bunker. When he turned back to his wife, he found her standing in front of the small sink, staring at herself in the mirror. "I can get you some pain meds."

Bella shook her head, her eyes flicking to his through the mirror. "I should check on Alice."

"No," he disagreed, and before she could argue, he said, "I'll check on Alice and Aro. You need to rest."

Bella sighed, but nodded as she turned from the sink. She whimpered as she climbed onto the bed, curling up on her side. Edward tossed the clothes he'd gotten out for her on the bottom of the bed before sitting on the side. He draped his arm over her legs and leaned down to kiss the side of her head.

"I'll be back in a few minutes. Just gotta get everything secure. You going to be okay?"

"Aren't I always?" she whispered, her eyes already closing.

Edward frowned, but didn't call her out on her simple statement. Bella had been anything but okay over the last year. As he left her inside their small room, he thought back to every decision he had made over the last two years. He'd never forgive himself for letting her put herself in the hands of the beast. He should have whisked her away, saved her from not only Carlisle Cullen, but the man she once called her father, too. Edward was a coward.

When he entered the control room, he wasn't surprised to find Rose, Emmett, and Jasper waiting with Garrett and Peter.

"So," he said, clapping his hands together. "How bad is it?"

"From what I'm gathering, the police arrived at Peter's about two minutes after you left," Jasper said, crossing his arms in front of him. "So far they haven't found anything that links Bella to Peter, or them to Cullen, but someone, this asshole who called in the tip I think, sent pictures to the police of Bella back at the ranch, in town, at Newton's hardware, and one outside of Cullen's house when she went after Leah. I don't know who this motherfucker is, but he's too close. We hid her well, Edward. How the hell did he find her?"

"I don't know," he said, shaking his head. "Who is he? Newton? Anything come up with him?"

Emmett snorted. "Dude's got a handful of traffic tickets, wrote a couple bad checks a few years back, but other than that, he comes back clean. Newton's a tool, but there's nothing in his history that suggests he had anything to do with this. Guy grew up in Raleigh, moved away after college and settled down to run his grandfather's hardware store."

"So this 'sandman' person then?" Rose suggested. "Let's face it: Bella's fucked his shit up when she took out Cullen and that bitch Pratt. Could be looking for revenge."

"Maybe." Edward nodded. "Probably."

With nothing more to add, Edward turned and walked away from his team, knowing things were only going to get harder for Bella. No longer could she skate by as Anna Mason. The world now knew Bella Swan was alive.


	20. Chapter 20

20

Bella snapped her eyes open, for a moment forgetting about the wound in her shoulder. Of course, then she moved and pain radiated throughout her body and she was once again reminded of her sins. Pressing her lips together to keep her scream buried inside her, she sat up and slid her legs off the side of the bed. A quick glance over her shoulder showed Edward fast asleep on his back, one arm covering his eyes while the other was draped across his stomach. She hadn't even felt him crawl into bed with her, something that didn't settle right with her.

Moving as quietly as she could, she stood up and slipped out of their room inside the dust filled bunker. The hallway was lit was dull orange lights that reminded her too much of the lights inside Esme Platt's Den of Hell. Bella shivered and tried to push all thoughts of her other life out of her head. It didn't work, of course. Her demons were always there, always reminding her how weak she really was.

As she entered the control room, she was both surprised and unsurprised to find Garrett in there, his legs propped up on one of the tables with a laptop on top, running through dozens and dozens of news sites at a time. He must have heard her because he looked back at her, his eyes lingering on her shoulder for a moment before he turned away.

"Shouldn't you be asleep?" he asked, pulling his feet down and standing up. He walked to the back of the room, where another table sat with one of those big, industrial size coffee urns lay. He filled two foam cups and turned back to her. "Cream or sugar?"

"No, thanks."

Garrett walked over and placed one cup on the table next to where he sat, while keeping the other for himself. "It's not great, but it works."

Bella nodded and took the few steps to where he sat, gingerly picking up the cup. She took a sip, spitting it out immediately. "You can't call this shit coffee!"

Garrett laughed and propped his feet back on the table. "Like I said: it's not great, but works."

"Hmm," she hummed, placing the cup back on the table and walking around the room. There were half a dozen tables covered with old computers that she doubted still worked, rotary phones, and a clear inch of dust. "You can stop looking at me."

"Just making sure you don't do something stupid like take off after some crazy bitch and get yourself shot," he quipped, and when she turned to face him, she found that he was still staring at her. "I'm sorry: was that mean?"

"Do you care if it was?" she asked.

"Not really."

"Didn't think so," she scoffed, turning one of the chairs so that she could see him, while also keeping her eyes on the entrance of the room. "What time is it?"

"Little after three in the morning."

"So it's Friday?" she asked, knowing they'd arrived late on Thursday.

"Saturday," he said. "You were tired."

"Apparently," she gritted, not liking the feeling of having been sleep for over a day.

"Your man has been worried about you," Garrett added, tilting his head to the side. "Seems to think you're helpless, but that's not true, is it?"

"I don't know," she confessed, pulling her knees up so that her feet rested on the edge of the chair. "Tell me about your scars."

Garrett's eyes widened. "My scars, huh? Which ones? The ones on my face? Or the ones on my neck? Or maybe the ones covering my back and torso."

"All of them," she said, quietly.

"I'd imagine I got mine much the same way you got yours." Garrett stood up and pulled his T-shirt off. Even in the dim lighting, Bella could see the thin scars that laced his body, up and down, and from side to side. "Whips," he said, gesturing to handful that crept over his shoulders. "These are from knives," he added, pointing to the handful around his belly button. He sat back down and pointed to the ones along his cheek. "These are from glass shattering as I jumped through a window."

"Why'd you do that?"

"To live," he said, shrugging his shoulders. "Like you, my parents gave me away. They sold me to pay for their drug debt. I was ten the first time."

"First time?" she asked.

He nodded. "Four times over an eight year span. Like I said, I was ten the first time they gave me away. The man who bought me liked little boys. He kept me for almost a year before I'd worked my parents' bill off. It didn't take long before they'd racked up another debt, though. By the time I served my fourth term in hell, I had almost all of these scars on my back, and half the ones on my stomach. I was seventeen when I was given to a particularly brutal businessman by the name of . . ." Garrett paused and looked at her ". . . Carlisle Cullen."

Bella felt her shoulders tense, which just caused the pain to increase.

"You want me to stop?" he asked.

"No," she lied.

"You can imagine what he did to me, how he broke me," Garrett said.

"I have an idea," she groused.

"I knew what hell was like, Swan, but he took it to another level. See, it didn't take long for him to realize that whips and chains didn't bother me anymore. I'd grown numb to that shit. No, he, um, he changed shit up quick. Started with blood play. He'd be . . ." Garrett shook his head. "Knives turned him on, my screams turned him on. Shit, everything turned that son-of-a-bitch on. After being left in his hands for almost a year, I knew I had to escape. See, Swan, he wasn't going to let me go. Cullen didn't let any of his whores go."

Standing up, Garrett filled his cup with more coffee before he turned and looked back at her. "We were in Chicago. Well, just outside of the city. He'd just finished with his latest round of torture and had left me alone in my room. I don't know how I got the strength, but I found myself standing in front of the window. We were on the second floor. Unlike his place in Forks, he didn't have bars on the window. I suspect that's a measure he took after I threw my body through the panes of glass. I landed on my knee, which I cracked, but I guess adrenalin powered me to run. I don't even know which direction I went. Just ran as hard and fast as I could for as long as I could.

"Eventually, I found myself outside a small hospital. A nurse found me leaning against the wall, blood pouring down my face, my knee twice the size it should have been. They pestered me with questions, but I couldn't tell them anything."

"Couldn't? Or wouldn't?" she asked.

"Wouldn't," he admitted. "I knew what Cullen would do, Bella. I'd breached the deal he had with my parents. I fucked everything up. So, yeah, I kept my mouth shut, pretended I didn't know how I'd gotten hurt. I played the victim, and blah, blah, blah. By the time I got out, my parents had been murdered and Carlisle Cullen had all but disappeared."

"Leaving him to torture other people," she quipped. "You could have stopped him."

"Could I?" he asked. "You know how far his reach went, Swan. What makes you think a nothing like me would be able to bring him down?"

"You could have tried," she argued.

"I wasn't strong enough, Swan. I'll admit it. I wish every day that I had been, but I wasn't. That's my cross to bear, too. I'll own that, but don't sit there and act like I failed you by protecting myself. I was a fucked up kid, who knew nothing in life but pain and humiliation. You sit there and cry because Daddy wanted to fuck you, turned your bestie into a whore, but, honey, you don't know what's it's like to be passed from one pedophile to another just because your momma and daddy like smack more than you."

"As long as it's not a contest, right?" she whimpered.

"That's not what I meant," he said with a sigh. "It took me a long time to trust myself, much less anyone else. Edward found me about a year before you went in, said he could give me the chance to make things right. He gave me a change for redemption, Swan. I do what I can, help where I'm needed, but like you, I don't trust easily."

"Is that why you think I went after her?" Bella asked. "That I'm looking for redemption?"

"Are you?"

"No," she said, unsure if she were being honest or not. "The Leah I knew, the Leah I walked into Hell to save, was gone. I wasn't a hero to her because she had begun to like it, to need to be treated like a whore. So, no, I didn't go after Leah to gain my redemption, Garrett. If anything, I just checked off just one more tick off for my place in Hell." Bella stood up and walked toward the doorway. "Where I belong."

Leaving him sitting alone, she knew without a doubt that when she died, she'd burn in Hell for her sins.

—BR—

Bella found herself sitting in the corner of the room she and Edward were sharing, watching her husband as he slept. His chest rose and fell, rose and fell. He looked peaceful and she found herself envying the way he slept with ease.

Aloud bang echoed from outside of their room and Edward sprang up, his eyes falling on her just moments before someone started banging on the door.

"Ed, man, we got something!" Emmett bellowed.

Edward scrambled to his feet and rushed over to the door, yanking it open. "What's going on?"

"I think we have a hit on Elizabeth."

Edward looked back at Bella before taking off after Emmett.

Slowly, Bella found her feet and followed. When she entered the command room, she found Garrett, Peter, Jasper, Emmett, Rose, and Angela inside the room. Bella leaned against the doorframe, hissing at the pressure on her wounded shoulder, but didn't move to elevate it. What was the point? Maybe she deserved the pain.

"Did you find her?" Bella asked, drawing everyone's attention to hers. Everyone's but Garrett's, who kept his attention on the laptop he'd been searching.

"I don't know," Edward said, reaching his hand out for her, but she shook her head, trying to make him understand that there were too many people, too much going on right there for her to be in the middle of it. "Gar?"

"I've been tracking missing person's cases across the West Coast, thinking this Sandman might be working his way along the coastline. But I wasn't getting anything, so I expanded nationwide, and found the story of a woman matching Elizabeth's description pleading for help in Colorado Springs, Colorado. By the time the police were called, she was gone."

"And you're sure it's Elizabeth?" Edward asked.

"No," Garrett said, turning to look at him, but his eyes landed on Bella first and then onto him. "I'm just saying there is something here that needs to be checked out."

Edward nodded and ran his fingers through his hair. Bella could see the war battling inside him. The part that wanted to run and find her, save her, and the part that knew she needed him here. Guilt filled Bella for being so needed and she herself saying, "What are you standing there for? Go!"

"Bella," Edward murmured, walking over to here.

"It's okay," she whispered, knowing it was anything but okay. "Go find her. I'll . . . I'll be okay."

"You need me," he whispered, one hand coming to rest on her hip while the other came up to cradle her face. "I promised that I'd be here for you."

"I know," she whimpered, hating that her tears filled her eyes. "But she's the reason you started this, the reason you found me. Go, Edward. Find her."

"I love you," he whispered before his lips found hers in a heated kiss. "I love you so much."

"I love you, too."

And as she turned and fled his embrace, knowing that he would leave her behind, knowing that she needed him to hold her together, knowing that if he didn't go, he would resent her for letting Elizabeth slip away again.


	21. Chapter 21

21

Bella hid in her room until she was sure Edward was gone, taking Emmett and Rose with him. She couldn't bear seeing him off, knowing that if she stood there and watched him leave, she'd chase after him and beg him to let her go. And she couldn't. Bella Swan was no longer a ghost. She could no longer hide in plain site as Anna Mason. The entire world knew the hell she'd thrust herself into, the pain she invited onto herself. But they didn't know, not really.

So instead if begging Edward to take her away, she curled up in the corner of her room, trying to ignore the pain radiating through her body from the bullet wound in her shoulder, and ignoring the memories that flashed through her head. The feel of Cullen's hands on her, his breath, the pain as he forced himself inside her again and again. Hearing Garrett's story, knowing he could have prevented her from going through that hell should have pissed her off, but it didn't. And she couldn't explain why. She was just numb to everything. Maybe Cullen had broken her after all.

Someone knocked on the door to her room, just before she heard Aro's voice call out, "Bella, sweetheart, are you in there?"

She should have answered him, but she found herself unable to respond, unable to take comfort in the man who had become just as much her grandfather as he was Alice's. He loved her, took care of her, but she hadn't been strong enough for him. So, instead, she stayed crotched down on the floor, silently letting her tears fall, letting her pain be her reminder of the hell she'd thrown herself into.

—BR—

Bella lost track of how long she had been curled up in the corner of her room when the door got forced open and Jasper and Garrett rushed inside. She should have expected them to come bursting into her room: they, along with Aro, had come knocking numerous times, begging and pleading with her to come out, to talk to them. How could she when everything was crumbling down around her?

They stopped in the doorway when they saw her sitting in the corner, knees pulled up to her chest. Maybe they could see the fear in her eyes, or maybe not.

"Go away," she whispered, unable to keep the tremor from lacing her words.

"No can do, Swan," Garrett said, taking two steps toward her but stopping when she screamed and slid up the wall. "Hey, calm down."

"Go away," she said again. "Please, just go away!"

"We can't let you lock yourself away like this, Bella," Jasper said, moving so that he and Garrett were blocking her way out of the room.

Panic started to rise inside her. This was her penance for her sins, for letting herself become a whore. "Go away. Please, fucking go away!"

"Edward made us promise to keep you from closing yourself away," Jasper explained, putting his hands up. "Besides, we need your help."

"With what?" she asked, blowing out a deep breath.

"We're trying to track who leaked it to the press that you are still alive, but we're stuck. We . . . Edward said you could help," Jasper explained.

"I . . ." Bella shook her head. "Um, can't you just bring me my laptop here? I can . . . I can, I don't know, work from here."

"Not gonna happen, Swan," Garrett scoffed. "You ain't hiding away in here."

Bella pressed her lips together as she considered her options. It was just like Edward to leave behind instructions for his henchmen. He was the one who sent them to babysit her in the first place. Just one more way he didn't trust her, not that she blamed him. She had just added another name to her list of victims.

"Fine," she groused. "Just, um, give me a minute to, you know, collect myself."

Though she could tell they were reluctant, they nodded and stepped out of the room, leaving the door open. Bella knew better than to close it. Instead, she tried to calm her racing heart and walked over to the sink, looking at herself in the mirror. Dark circles encased her eyes, her skin was pale, her lips dry and chapped. She had never been the most beautiful woman in the room but she had never hated the way she looked. Yet, now, she appeared tired and worn. Older than her nineteen years. Tears filled her eyes and she pushed away from the sink, unable to see the soulless monster reflecting back at her.

Garrett and Jasper were waiting for her in the hallway. However, instead of following them down to the command center, she turned and started running in the opposite direction. Someone grabbed her arm, and when she spun around, she brought her knee up, hitting Jasper squarely between his legs.

"Fuck," he groaned, released her, and dropped to his knees, clutching himself.

"Sorry," she mumbled, but took off again.

She could hear Garrett trying to follow, but she ran harder, faster, trying like hell to get away. A left and then a right, and she slid into a small room, slamming the door closed behind her. Looking around, she found herself on a landing to a staircase, that led both upwards and down. Sliding to the floor, she tried to keep from screaming, from crying, from living.

"Is he after you, too?"

Bella snapped her eyes open and scrambled to her feet and moved so that she was looking over the railing to the flight of stairs below her, where Alice was seated. "What are you doing here?"

"Hiding," she murmured, tightening her arms around her knees. "I don't like it here. I want to go back to the ranch."

"Me, too." Bella walked down the stairs and sat next to Alice.

"I heard them talking," Alice whispered. "About you. About her. About you killing her."

Bella felt her shoulders tense.

"Is it true?" Alice asked.

"It is," she confessed. "I had to, though. I . . ."

"Mistress liked her," Alice said, speaking quietly. "I wasn't a good girl, like her."

"I wasn't either."

"When can we go back to the ranch? I miss the horses," she murmured, but before Bella could answer, the door above them opened with a loud creak, and Alice whimpered as she scrambled to her feet and started down the steps. "He's coming. Hurry, Bella, run!"

"Alice, wait!" Bella cried out as she tried to follow, but before she could get down more than a flight of stairs, her foot slipped off one step and fell, hard.

She rolled at least a dozen times before stopping, her wounded shoulder slamming against the wall of the next landing down. Groaning, she tried to keep from crying out, but the pain radiating through her was too much.

"Jesus, Swan," Peter grumbled as he knelt next to her. "We've been looking for you everywhere. Are you okay?"

"I'm fine," Bella groused, trying to push him away, but he slipped his arms beneath her and lifted her off the ground. "Put me down."

"I don't think so," he scoffed, and turned and carried her back up the stairs she had just fallen down.

Ignoring her, he carried her down the hallway to a small medical bay, setting her on a cold, metal examination table that looked like it hadn't been cleaned in a dozen years.

Bella tried to regulate her breathing as Peter rummaged through the drawers, pulling out packages of gauze and antiseptic wipes. "We really don't need to do this. I'm fine."

"Humor me," Peter said, giving her a smile. "Edward will have my ass if I let something happen to you. That was a hard fall you took. I need to make sure you didn't bust open the stitches keeping your shoulder closed."

"I'm fine," she said again as she watched him wash and dry his hands. He pulled on a pair of latex gloves before walking over to her. "Why don't you practice medicine anymore?"

"I do," he said, helping her slip her arm from her T-shirt. The urge to lash out at him was stronger than she'd like. "I just don't do it with an actual license to practice."

"Why'd they take your license away?"

Peter peeled the bandage off her chest and tossed the bloody rag into a trash bin. "They tend to do that when you kill a man."

"Who'd you kill?"

"You ask a lot of personal questions," he tittered as he cleaned her wound.

Bella didn't reply.

"He was brought in with a hole from where his dick used to be. His five year old son shot him after the bastard tried to sneak into his bedroom . . . again."

"A . . . again?" Bella stammered.

Peter nodded and angled his body so that he was facing her as he checked her stitches. "The police told us that the boy had found his father's gun to protect himself. Five years old and felt the need to arm himself against the one person who was supposed to protect him." Peter pressed down on her wound, causing her to hiss in pain. "Sorry."

"It's fine," Bella gritted out between clinched teeth. "So he shot his father and you what? Just let him bleed out?"

"Basically," Peter said, taking a step backward and folding his arms in front of his chest. "The bullet had splintered and a piece started moving upward toward his heart. We rushed him to the OR, but I couldn't bring myself to do anything. My boss tried to force me to operate, tried to barge into my OR and do it himself, but I locked him out, locked everyone out, and stood there while he bled out and died."

"And lost your medical license in the process," Bella murmured. "Did you go to prison?"

"I was charged with medical malpractice and manslaughter, but I was acquitted on all charges after the little boy testified about what his father had been doing to him. His mother also testified on my behalf, said I'd saved her little boy from a life of hell."

"Was it worth it?" Bella asked. "Sure you didn't go to prison, but you can't legally practice medicine. Was it worth losing everything you worked for?"

"Yes," he said, moving back toward her. He picked up a syringe and inserted it next to the skin next to her gunshot wound. "People like him make it harder for the rest of us. There are rules, limits in this life, Bella, which must be respected."

"Rules?" she mumbled as dizziness swirled around her. She shifted her eyes toward Peter, who had a smirk tugging at the corners of his lips. "What . . . What'd you do?"

"Just gave you a little something to help you relax," he said, frankly. "You've created quite the mess for me to clean up, Isabella."

"Mess?" Bella slurred, trying to scoot off the table, but Peter wrapped his arm around her, keeping her place. "Don't touch me, Peter!"

"Shh, sweetheart," he whispered, bringing his lips down against her ear. "You can call me Sandman."

A cry for help died in her throat as her eyes closed and darkness swept her away.


	22. Chapter 22

22

Edward felt anxious. No, not just anxious. More than anxious. He couldn't shake the feeling that something wasn't right. It was almost too easy. He, Emmett, and Rose had been on the road for almost two hours when he suddenly pulled onto the shoulder and shifted the SUV into park.

"What are you doing?" Emmett asked, pulling a pair of headphones out of his ears before looking over at him.

"What are the odds?" Edward shifted in his seat so he could see both Emmett and Rose. "What are the odds that Elizabeth has been spotted just two days after we get to the bunker? After someone leaks files about Bella? Something isn't right here."

"So what? You think whoever leaked that Bella is still alive put out a fake tip about your sister? Who knows about Elizabeth?" Rose asked, leaning forward from the backseat.

"Only those of us in Eclipse," Edward murmured, thinking about the handful of people involved in his operation. "But only us, Jas, Garrett, and Peter know that we are at the bunker."

"What does that matter?" Emmett asked.

"Giving us a tip that my sister is in Colorado, knowing that it's close enough that we'd drive, but still far away enough that it would give them some time to make their move. . ." Edward shook his head before shifting the SUV into drive and pulling a U-turn, heading back the way they'd come. "Try to get a hold of Jas."

"Why?" he asked, but pulled his phone out of his pocket and started scrolling through his contacts, stopping at Jasper's name and hitting the call button.

Seconds later, Jasper's heavy breath came rushing through the phone. "This is Whitlock."

"Hey, Jas—"

"Where's Bella?" Edward asked, cutting Emmett off in mid-sentence.

"I don't know," Jasper muttered, and Edward felt his shoulders tense. "We did as you asked, tried to get her to come help us chase Elizabeth's tracks, but, I don't know, Edward, she got scared or something, and took off. We're still looking for her."

"Fuck," Edward spat under his breath. "Lock the place down, Jas. Do you hear me? Lock it fucking down!"

"What? Why?"

Edward blew out a heavy breath. "Because . . . because I think we've been compromised."

"Jesus fuck," Jasper hissed before saying, "I'll lock this place down. Just hurry."

"I am," Edward muttered, pressing the gas pedal down, and speeding up. Had he left the love of his life in the hands of a monster once again?

An hour and a half later, Edward slammed on the brakes outside of the bunker, throwing the door open as he shifted into park. The door to the bunker opened before he, Emmett, and Rose had reached it, which did nothing to ease the anxiety that welled up inside of him.

"We can't find her," Jasper said before Edward could uttered a word. "We've looked everywhere, man. We can't find her or . . . or Peter."

Edward's eyes closed for a moment as bile rose in his throat. "I'm so fucking stupid."

And before anyone could say anything, Edward pushed his way inside, down the narrow hallway to the command center, where he found Garrett and Aro. Dragging his hand through his hair, he hurried over to the security cameras, searching each one like Bella or Peter were just going to magically appear on one of them.

"You won't find her."

At the sound of Alice's voice, Edward spun around, finding her crutched on the floor behind the door, her arms wrapped tightly around her legs. Her dark black hair hung around her face, but he could see her eyes, wide and filled with fear.

"He's angry," she added, her voice trembling as everyone stared at her. "She took everything from him, and now, he's going to make her pay."

"Who?" Jasper asked before Edward could utter a sound. He walked over to Alice and sat on the floor in front of her. "Who's going to make her pay?"

"The Sandman," Alice whispered. "I told her to run, to hide, but he found her. He took her away."

"You're talking about Peter?" Jasper asked, reaching out for Alice's hand, but pulling back when she flinched. "Is Peter the man you call The Sandman?"

Alice nodded, her eyes shifting to Edward. "He's going to kill her, and there's nothing you can do to save her." Alice slide up the wall, keeping her body angled so that nobody could sneak up on her as she moved toward the door. "You damned her to Hell."

As Alice rushed out of the room, Edward dropped to his knees, knowing she was right. Though he was just trying to protect her, he'd put Bella in the hands of the beast, and he had no idea where, or how, he was going to find her. Was she lost to him forever?

—BR—

Bella's eyes felt heavy, her mouth dry, and her shoulder ached. She tried to shift, but a cry of pain stumbled out of her mouth when her body refused to budge and her eyes snapped open. Frantically, she looked around, trying to figure out where she was, but there was no way of knowing. All she could tell was that the room she was in was dimly lit, dank, and smelled like wet dirt. Her arms had been pulled over her head, bound in thick rope and hung on a rusty looking fisherman's hook.

"You're new," a soft, delicate voice came from behind her. Bella tried to look back, but the pressure of turning, pulled at the wound in her shoulder, and just made her cry out again. "You need to be quiet before he comes back."

"I'm sorry," Bella whimpered, trying to calm down. "Where are we?"

"In the basement, I think," the person — a woman based on the sound of her voice — said. "In south, I think."

"What makes you think it's the south?"

"I don't know," she murmured and Bella heard her moving but when the sound of a door creaking open echoed throughout the small and dank basement, she seemed to stop.

Peter stopped at the bottom of the wooden staircase, a smirk tugged at the corner of his lips. Unlike their short stay in the bunker, he was wearing a pair of fitted jeans with rips in the knees and no shirt, his chiseled from his years of brutal torture that he got off on. His blond hair was wild and his blue eyes filled with an amusement that Bella had spent the last year trying to get out of her nightmares.

"Good morning," he chirped, placing his hands on his hips. "How are you feeling? A lot of pain?"

Bella pressed her lips together, refusing to answer him.

Peter smiled and walked up so that he was standing less than an inch in front of her. His hands shifted onto her hips, under the shirt he'd put back on her after drugging her, along the sides of her breasts to where the stitches that were keeping her bullet hole together. His eyes never left hers as he pressed down, and Bella screamed.

"Fuck, I love that sound," he growled, pressing his body against hers. His free hand grabbed the back of her hair, pulling her head back. "Makes me want to fuck your mouth, and based on the videos I have, I know what a good, little cocksucker you are."

Bella's chest heaved as she pressed her lips together once more.

"You thought you were so smart, didn't you?" he murmured, sliding his lips along her jawline. "You thought you could come in, take Cullen down, and everything would be perfect." Peter sucked her earlobe into his mouth before whispering, "You're a stupid, fucking whore."

"Yeah?" Bella gritted out, trying to free herself from his arms, but Peter just held on tighter. "You think I'm scared of you? I took Cullen out, and I'll damn well take your sorry ass out, too."

"Will you now?" Peter asked, smirking as once again he pressed his finger down on her bullet wound.

This time, Bella managed to stifle her scream, though it took great effort.

"You made things very hard for me, Isabella. Years of my hard work and networking out the window because you got your feelings hurt."

Peter slid his hands down the front of her tee, his eyes staying locked on hers as he ripped it down the middle, leaving her exposed. Behind her, she could hear the woman whimpering, but Peter's attention appeared to be solely on her at the moment.

"What to do about you, Isabella?" he murmured, his fingers dropping to the top of her pajama pants. "The world thought you were dead. I could kill you. Bury your body and leave everyone to wonder where you are."

Peter pressed his lips against the side of her neck, inhaling a deep breath. "Or, I could fuck you like a whore, break you down, make you mine forever."

"I'd never be yours," Bella gritted out, trying to shift her body away from him, but Peter held her tightly against him. "Cullen couldn't break me, and never will you."

Peter leaned away and grinned. "Yeah? You forgot something."

"What's that?" Bella asked before she could stop herself.

Peter's grin turned into a smirk as he grabbed her face between his hands, his nails digging into her skin. "Cullen got too attached to you, started to care about you. He wanted to keep you for himself, keep you as his little toy. See, Isabella, Cullen turned soft, let his guard down, and you were smart enough to seize your moment and you killed him."

"What's your point?" she snarled.

"You mean nothing to me, Isabella. You're just like every other little cocksucking whore I've destroyed. I'll have my fun with you, and in the end, you'll beg me to end your life."

Releasing his hold on her, Peter turned and walked back up the stairs, closing the door with a deafening thud. Bella knew it was only a shirt reprieve, that he'd be back and this time he'd make her pay for destroying his network. Tears burned her eyes, though she managed to keep them from falling. Cullen might not have broken her, but Peter certainly would.

"Was he telling the truth?" the woman asked and Bella could hear her moving behind her.

"About what?" Bella asked, trying to keep her voice from cracking.

"About you killing him, killing Carlisle Cullen?"

Bella pulled against the ropes on her arms, crying out in pain from the wound in her shoulder.

"Shh," the woman hissed.

A moment later, she was standing in front of Bella. Her hair was long and dark, dirty and grimy looking. Her skin was pale and bruised. She was thin—too thin to be healthy—but it was her eyes that stood out. Bright emerald green that almost seemed to sparkle.

"Elizabeth."


End file.
